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THE 

HISTORY 

OF    NATIONS 


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FRANCE 


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THE  HISTORY  OF  NATIONS 

HENRY  CABOT  LODGE,Ph.D..LL.D.  EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 


FRANCE 

Revised  and  edited  from  the  work  of 

EMILE  de  BONNECHOSE 

by 

FRED  MORROW  FLING  PhD. 

Professor  of  European  History 
University  of  Nebraska 


Volume     IX 


Illustrated 


The   H  .W.  Snow  and  Son  Company 

C  1\   i    c    a    9'    o 


C^tI■^•K]l,ln■,    T.KIT.    ]!V 

JOIIX   1).  MORRIS  &  COAIPAXY 


C()^^"Kl(,ll^,   l".)li) 
111".  IT.  AV.  SXOW  &  SOX  COMP.XXY 


THE   HISTORY   OF  NATIONS 

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 

HENRY  CABOT  LODGE,  PkD.,  L.L.D. 

Associate  Editors  and  Authors 


ARCHIBALD  HENRY  SAYCE,  LL.D.. 

Professor     of     Assyriology,     Oxford     Uni- 
versity 


SIR  ROBERT  K.  DOUGLAS, 

Professor  of  Chinese,   King's  College,  Lon- 


CHRISTOPHER  JOHNSTON,  M.D.,  Ph.D., 

Associate  Professor  of  Oriental  History  ani 
Archaeology,  Johns  Hopkins  University 


C.  W.  C.  OMAN,  LL.D., 

Professor  of  History,  Oxford  University 


THEODOR  MOMMSEN, 

Late    Professor   of   Ancient    History,    Uni- 
versity of  Berlin 


ARTHUR  C.  HOWLAND,  Ph.D., 

Department  of  History,  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania 


JEREMIAH  WHIPPLE  JENKS,  Ph.D.,  LL.D., 

Professor   of    Political   Economy   and    Pol- 
itics, Cornell  University 


KANICHI  ASAKAWA,  Ph.D., 

Instructor    in    the    History    of    Japanese 
Civilization,  Yale  University 


WILFRED  HAROLD  MUNRO,  Ph.D., 

Professor    of    European    History,     Brown 
University 


G.  MERCER   ADAM, 

Historian  and  Editor 


FRED  MORROW  FLING,  Ph.D., 

Professor  of  European  History,  University 
of  Nebraska 


CHARLES  MERIVALE,  LL.D., 

Late    Dean   of   Ely.    formerly   Lecturer  in        FRANCOIS  AUGUSTS  MARIE  MIGNET. 


History,  Cambridge  University 


Late  Member  of  the  French  Academy 


J.  HIGGINSON  CABOT,  Ph.D., 

Department  of   History,  Wellesley  College 


JAMES  WESTFALL  THOMPSON,  Ph.D., 

Department     of     History,     University     of 
Chicago 


SIR  WILLIAM  W.  HUNTER,  F.R.S., 

Late  Director-General  of  Statistics  in  India 


SAMUEL  RAWSON  GARDINER,  LL.D., 

Professor  of   Modern   History,    King's  Col- 
lege, London 


GEORGE  M.  DUTCHER,  Ph.D., 

Professor  of  History,  Wesleyan  University 


R.  W.  JOYCE,  LL.D., 

Commissioner   for   the    Publication   of   the 
Ancient  Laws  of  Ireland 


ASSOCIATE  EDITORS  AND   AUTHORS-Continued 


jusTin  McCarthy,  ll.d.. 

Author  and  Historian 


PAUL  LOUIS  LEGER, 

Professor  of  the   Slav   Languages,   College 
de  France 


AUGUSTUS  HUNT  SHEARER,  Ph.D.. 

Instructor    in     History.     Trinity    College.        WILLIAM  E.  LINGLEBACH,  Ph.D., 

Hartford  Assistant    Professor  of   European    History. 

University  of  Pennsylvania 

W.  HAROLD  CLAFLIN,  B.A., 

Department    of    History.     Harvard     Uni-        BAYARD  TAYLOR, 


versity 


Former  United  States  Minister  to  Germany 


CHARLES  DANDLIKER,  LL.D., 

President  of  Zurich  University 


SIDNEY  B.  FAY.  Ph.D., 

Professor  of   History,     Dartmouth    College 


ELBERT  JAY  BENTON,  Ph.D., 

Department  of   History,  Western  Reserve 

University 


SIR  EDWARD  S.  CREASY, 

Late  Professor  of  History,  University  Col- 
lege, London 


ARCHIBALD  CARY  COOLIDGE,  Ph.D., 

Assistant    Professor   of    History,    Harvard 
University 


WILLIAM  RICHARD  MORFILL,  M.A., 

Professor   of   Russian    and    other   Slavonic 
Languages,  Oxford  University 

CHARLES  EDMUND  FRYER,  Ph.D., 

Department  of  History,  McGill  University 

E.  C.  OTTE, 

Specialist  on  Scandinavian  History 


J.  SCOTT  KELTIE,  LL.D., 

President  Royal  Geographical  Society 


ALBERT  GALLOWAY  KELLER,  Ph.D.. 

Assistant   Professor  of   the   Science  of  So- 
ciety, Yale  University 


EDWARD  JAMES  PAYNE,  M.A., 

Fellow  of  University  College,  Oxford 


PHILIP  PATTERSON  WELLS,  Ph.D., 

Lecturer  in   History  and   Librarian  of  the 
Law  School,  Yale  I'niversity 


FREDERICK  ALBION  OBER, 

Historian,  Author  and  Traveler 


JAMES  WILFORD  GARNER,  Ph.D., 

Professor   of    Political   Science,    University 
of  Hlinois 


EDWARD  S.  CORWIN,  Ph.D., 

Instructor    in     History,     Princeton     Uni- 
versity 


JOHN  BACH  McMASTER,  Litt.D.,  LL.D., 

Professor  of   History,   University  of  Penn- 
sylvania 


JAMES   LAMONT  PERKINS,   Msmaifmg  Editor 


The  editors  and  publishers  desire  to  express  their  appreciation  for  vahiable 
advice  and  suggestions  received  from  the  following;  Hon.  Andrew  D.  White, 
LL.D.,  Alfred  Thayer  M.^han,  D.C.L.,  LL.D.,  Hon.  Charles  E.mory  Smitpi. 
LL.D.,  Professor  Edward  Gaylord  Bourne,  Ph.D.,  Charles  F.  Thwing, 
LL.D.,  Dr.  Emil  Reich,  William  Elliot  Griffis,  LL.D.,  Professor  John 
Martin  Vincent,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  Melvil  Dewey,  LL.D.,  Alston  Ellis,  LL.D., 
Professor  Charles  H.  McCarthy,  Ph.D.,  Professor  Herman  V.  Ames,  Ph.D., 
Professor  Walter  L.  Fleming,  Ph.D.,  Professor  David  Y.  Tho.mas,  Ph.D., 
Mr.  Otto  Reich  and  Mr.  O.  M.  Dickerson. 

vii 


INTRODUCTION 


THE  study  of  history,  when  history  is  rightly  understood, 
becomes  something  more  than  a  pastime.  An  accurate 
and  detailed  knowledge  of  the  past  of  society  is  the  indis- 
pensable foundation  of  historical  consciousness,  and  to  a  people  that 
would  play  a  role  in  world  society  historical  consciousness  is  as  im- 
portant a  requisite  as  personal  experience  to  the  successful  individ- 
ual. The  peoples  that  have  made  history  and  the  peoples  that  are 
making  history  furnish  the  most  convincing  proof  of  the  truth  of 
this  assertion.  Historical  consciousness  in  a  people  consists  in  an 
exact  knowledge  of  its  complex  relations  with  contemporary  peoples 
and  of  the  relation  of  its  own  social  life  to  the  social  life  of  the  world 
that  stretches  back  through  thousands  of  years.  Just  as  the  great 
captain  of  industry  is  distinguished  from  the  day  laborer  by  his  com- 
prehensive and  accurate  acquaintance  with  the  world  of  affairs, 
so  the  great  peoples  of  to-day  —  the  English,  the  Germans,  the 
French  and  the  Americans — are  distinguished  from  the  peoples  of 
Africa  and  Asia  by  their  highly  developed  historical  consciousness, 
by  the  knowledge  of  their  complex  relations  with  the  present  and 
the  past.  The  great  awakening  in  historical  study  during  the  past 
generation  was  no  accident ;  it  is  one  of  the  conditions  of  leadership 
in  the  struggle  for  supremacy  in  the  affairs  of  the  world.  To-day 
a  world  society  exists ;  it  is  the  product  of  all  the  past,  and  an  accu- 
rate and  detailed  knowledge  of  the  relations  of  each  part,  of  each 
people,  to  the  whole,  to  the  present  and  to  the  past  of  that  whole, 
is  the  condition  of  self-preservation,  and  cannot  be  disregarded  with 
impunity.  If  examples  are  needed  they  may  be  found  in  T'^pnn 
and  China.  The  historical  consciousness  is  more  highly  developed 
in  Japan  than  in  Russia,  and  very  poorly  developed  in  China.  Japan 
has  saved  herself,  saved  China,  and  wrecked  the  prestige  of  Russia. 
As  we  are  part  of  a  great  world  society,  the  history  of  the 
peoples  that  have  made  that  society  is  a  portion  of  our  own  history, 


X  INTRODUCTION 

and  we  can  neglect  it  only  at  our  peril.  We  must  make  their  experi- 
ence our  own  by  serious  and  sympathetic  study,  and  we  must  profit 
by  that  experience.  That  "  peoples  learn  nothing  from  history  " 
never  was  absolutely  true,  and  it  becomes  less  true  with  each  evolv- 
ing century.  Never  in  the  history  of  the  world  was  so  large  a 
body  of  trained  experts  engaged  in  the  work  of  developing  histori- 
cal consciousness  by  supplying  it  with  exhaustive  and  detailed 
knowledge  concerning  the  past  as  to-day. 

Of  all  the  historical  peoples,  none,  with  the  possible  exception 
of  Greece  and  Rome,  has  had  a  past  more  valuable  for  its  social 
experience  than  the  people  of  France.  Its  history  stretches  over 
two  thousand  years,  twice  as  long  as  the  existence  of  the  Roman 
republic  and  empire  among  the  Latin  speaking  peoples,  and  it  has 
dealt  successfully  with  social  problems  that  the  Romans  were  in- 
capable of  solving.  Possibly  they  could  not  have  been  solved  at 
that  time;  the  point  is  that  there  is  social  experience  to  be  found 
in  the  history  of  France  that  cannot  be  found  in  that  of  Rome. 

Apart  from  all  practical  value,  what  could  be  more  fascinating 
to  the  inquisitive  mind  than  to  trace  the  long  and  varied  process 
by  which  the  complex,  social  unit  that  we  call  France  was  evolved 
from  the  disparate  elements  that  originally  existed  on  the  soil  of 
Gaul  or  were  introduced  from  contiguous  countries?  Concerning 
all  the  details  of  the  process,  historians  are  not  as  yet  agreed,  or 
these  details  are  not  yet — perhaps  never  may  be  fully — known  to 
them;  but  the  main  outlines  are  easily  intelligible.  The  ethnic  ele- 
ments out  of  which  the  people  was  constituted;  the  steps  by  which 
territorial  unity  was  reached ;  the  manner  in  which  language,  law, 
administration,  manners  and  customs  were  rendered  homogeneous ; 
the  relations  of  this  territory  to  surrounding  territories,  how  it  v.'as 
defined  and  defended  by  centuries  of  struggles — all  of  these  things 
VvC  know.  We  know  too  what  the  inlluence  of  France  has  been  in 
this  larger  world  of  which  it  forms  a  part,  and  what  it  is  contribut- 
ing to  the  solution  of  the  social  problems  of  our  own  day. 

The  French  people  are  a  historical  product,  and  although  tlie 
process  of  formatirni  has  occupied  thousands  of  years,  the  end  is 
not  yet.  Among  the  living  human  beings  that  call  themselves 
Frenchmen  are  descendants  of  the  most  unlike  races.  The  rude 
cave-dwellers  of  the  stone  age,  the  half  civilized  Gauls,  the  cultured 
Romans,  and  the  barbarous  Germans  have  all  contributed  to  the 


INTRODUCTION  xi 

making  of  this  people.  The  dominant  element  has  been  the  Celtic. 
The  change  is  still  going  on,  but  the  process  is  a  silent  one,  unlike 
the  rude  shocks  that  introduced  the  Roman  and  German  elements 
into  the  population.  In  1901  there  were  over  a  million  foreigners 
residing  in  France,  and  in  1896  the  population  contained  more  thaa 
two  hundred  thousand  naturalized  Frenchmen.  The  significance 
of  such  figures  is  not  fully  realized. 

The  unification  and  delimitation  of  the  territory  of  France 
were  two  of  the  conditions  of  social  union  and  of  political  independ- 
ence. Territorial  unification  was  practically  complete  at  the  end 
of  the  fifteenth  century;  if  the  incident  of  Alsace-Lorraine  is  not 
yet  closed,  the  question  of  delimitation  is  still  a  serious  problem 
for  France.  In  the  formation  of  the  territory,  the  chief  role  fell 
to  the  kings,  who,  struggling  against  decentralizing  tendencies, 
finally  formed  one  great  state  directly  subject  to  themselves  out 
of  many  discordant  parts.  The  task  was  completed  when  the  na- 
tional assembly,  in  1789  and  1790,  abolished  the  provinces  and 
divided  France  into  departments.  The  struggle  for  natural  bound- 
aries led  to  wars  for  centuries  with  all  of  the  surrounding  peoples, 
with  England,  Spain,  Germany,  and  Italy.  The  Hundred  Years 
War  gave  France  its  Atlantic  coast,  but  Calais  was  not  recovered 
until  1557.  The  Spanish  frontier  was  not  fixed  until  the  latter 
half  of  the  seventeenth  century,  the  Italian  frontier  received  its 
last  rectification  in  i860,  and  the  frontier  along  the  Rhine  was 
modified  as  late  as  1871. 

The  evolution  of  a  homogeneous  language  for  the  whole 
French  people  is  not  yet  fully  efTected.  The  original  Celtic  was 
displaced  by  the  popular  Latin ;  the  Latin  was  transformed  into 
various  French  dialects,  and  for  six  hundred  years  the  dialect  of 
the  region  about  Paris  has  been  making  the  linguistic  conquest 
of  the  rest  of  France.  The  conquest  is  not  yet  complete;  there  are 
still  remote  districts  in  which  aged  men  and  women  talk  a  lan- 
guage unintelligible  to  the  mass  of  the  French  people  (Brittany 
and  Provence,  for  example).  But  that  will  soon  pass  away.  Rail- 
roads and  schools  are  fast  changing  all  that,  and  old  men  who  speak 
French  but  poorly  are  proud  of  the  fact  that  their  children  read 
and  speak  the  language  flirently. 

The  kings  of  France  that  gave  it  territorial  unity  did  much 
for  the  development  of  homogeneous  institutions  within  its  borders. 


xli  INTRODUCTION 

The  centralized  government  of  Rome  had  given  way  to  feudal 
decentralization  in  the  making  of  laws,  the  administration  of  jus- 
tice, the  coinage  of  money,  taxation,  and  the  organization  of  the 
army.  In  all  of  these  things  the  kings  by  the  labor  of  centuries 
substituted  centralization  and  uniformity  for  the  chaos  of  conflict- 
ing practices.  The  W'Ork  of  the  kings  was  completed  by  the 
revolution. 

As  Rome  gave  to  France  its  language  and  law,  it  also  gave 
to  it  its  religion.  Pagan  Gaul  was  converted  to  Christianity  under 
the  empire,  and  although  the  settlement  of  the  Burgundians  and 
Visigoths  in  Gaul,  with  their  unorthodox  Arianism,  introduced  a 
discordant  element  into  the  Church  in  the  west,  the  conversion  of 
the  Franks  to  the  dogmas  of  Rome  was  a  victory  for  orthodoxy 
and  led  to  the  suppression  of  the  Arian  belief.  By  his  support  of 
the  Church  the  King  of  France  won  the  title  of  "  His  Christian 
IMajesty,"  and  the  French  shovk^ed  their  religious  zeal  by  the  promi- 
nent part  they  took  in  the  crusades.  The  religious  devotion  of 
the  kings  of  France  did  not  prevent  them  from  becoming  sturdy 
defenders  of  the  rights  of  the  state  against  the  encroachments  of 
the  Popes  and  of  the  independence  of  the  Gallic  church.  The 
Reformation,  apart  from  the  political  complications  that  attended 
it,  never  seriously  threatened  the  supremacy  of  Latin  Christianity 
in  France,  llie  Huguenots  w^ere  deprived  of  their  political  inde- 
pendence by  Richelieu  and  of  their  religious  freedom  by  Louis  XIV. 
The  Revolution  led  to  a  temporary  separation  of  church  and  state, 
but  Napoleon  restored  their  old  relations.  They  were  finally 
separated  in  1905. 

The  contributions  of  France  to  the  products  of  human  culture 
have  been  as  noteworthy  as  the  w^ork  in  social  organization.  Tt 
has  produced  a  literature  and  art  w^ortliy  of  a  place  by  the  side 
of  the  literature  and  art  of  Greece ;  it  has  produced  great  philoso- 
phers, historians  and  scientists.  Its  tongue  was  for  a  long  time 
the  common  language  of  cultured  and  diplomatic  Europe. 

In  the  very  beginnings  of  its  history  the  inhabitants  of  the 
country  now  called  France  made  themselves  felt  far  and  wide  in 
Europe.  The  Gauls  that  invaded  Spain,  Italy,  and  Greece  were 
but  the  forerunners  of  Louis  XIV.  and  X^apoleon  I.  They  have 
established  themselves  in  Africa  and  Asia  and  in  X^'orth  and  South 
America,  and  rank  among  the  first  of  the  peoples  that  are  dominat- 


INTRODUCTION 


xiu 


ing  the  world,  possessing  the  second  largest  navy  and  the  third 
largest  army,  ranking  after  England  on  the  sea  and  after  Russia 
and  Germany  on  the  land. 

France  has  done  many  things  well  that  from  the  point  of  view 
of  social  evolution  are  worth  doing,  and  her  history  should  make 
clear  by  what  ways  and  means  it  has  accomplished  these  things. 
This  book  can  but  suggest  the  outlines  of  the  human  web  that  has 
been  aweaving  for  these  thousand  years,  and  still  is  incomplete. 


fy^yfi. 


The  University  of  Nebraska 


CONTENTS 

PART    I 
FROM    BARBARISM    TO    KINGDOM.    58   B.  C.-987   A.  D. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  Lndepexdent  Gaul  and  Roman  Gaul      ...       3 
II.  The   Germanic    Invasions   and   the   ]\Ierovingian 

Kingdoms.    387-752  a.  d.    ,         .         .         .         -15 

III.  The  Empire  of  Charlemagne.     752-987  .         .     40 

PART    II 
FEUDAL   MONARCHY.   987-1642 

IV.  Feudal  France.     987-1180      ,         .         .         .         -6^ 
V.  Reaction    Against    Feudalism  :     Philip   Augustus 

AND  Philip  the  Fair,     i  180-1328       .  .  -75 

\T.  The  Hundred  Years'  War.     1328-1422     .  .  •     9- 

VII.  Joan  of  Arc  and  the  Liberation  of  France.    1422- 

1461  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .114 

VIII.  Territorial  Unity  and  Wars  in  Italy.    1461-1547  121 
IX.  The  Reformation  and  the  IIuguenot  Wars.     1547- 

1589 145 

X.  IIenry    IV.    and   the    Reorganization    of    France. 

1589-1624  .......    166 

XI.  Richelieu  and  the  Thirty  Years'  War,    1624-1643  183 

PART    III 

ABSOLUTE   ^lONARCIIY.    1643-1774 

XII.  Louis    XIV.    and    the    Supremacy    of    France    in 

Europe.     1643- 1683  .....    199 

XIII.  Louis  XIV.  and  the  Decline  of  the  French  Power 

IN  Europe.     1683-1715       .....   216 

XIV.  The    Struggle    against    Arbitrary    Power    under 

Louis  XV.     17 15- 1774       .....  227 

XV 


XVI 


CONTENTS 


PART    IV 
THE  FRENCH    REVOLUTION.    1774-1799 

CHAPTER 

XV.  The  Constitutional  Monarchy.     1774-1791    . 
XVI.  The  Fall  of  the  Monarchy.     1791-1792 
XVII.  The  First  Republic.     1792-1795       .  .  .  . 

XVIII.  The  Directory  and  the  Rise  of  Natoleon  Bona- 
parte.    1795-1799     ...... 


PAGE 

253 

278 
297 


PART   V 

THE    NAPOLEONIC    PERIOD.    1799-1814 

XIX.  The  Consulate.     1799-1804     . 
XX.  The  Empire  of  Napoleon  I.     1804-1811 
XXI.  Fall  of  the  Napoleonic  Empire.     1811-1814 


315 
324 
340 


PART    VI 

A    CENTURY    OF    REVOLUTION.   1814-1910 

XXII.  The  Restoration  of  the  Bourbons.     1814-1820        .   355 

XXIII.  The  Reaction  under  Charles  X.  and  the  Revolu- 

tion OF  1830.     1 820- 1 830  ....   374 

XXIV.  The  Monarchy  of  the  Property  Class.     1830- 1838  394 
XXV.  Guizot's   Ministry   and   the   Revolution    of    1848. 

1838-1848 415 

XXVT.  The  Second  Republic.     1848-1852  .  .  .  435 

XXVII.  The  Empire  of  Napoleon  III.     1852-1870         .  .  445 

XXVIII.  The  Third  Republic.    1870-1910     ....  467 


Bibliography 
Index 


.  495 
.  505 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


Charge  of  the  Scots  Greys    (I'hotogravurc)  Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

Clovis,   King  of  the   Franks,   Rkceivf.s   the   Holy    Sacra- 
ment OF  Baptism «     , <•     -  iS 

The  Last  Merovingian   King,  Childeric  III,  Forcibly  De- 
throned           ,     .     o     .     .  38 

Roland,  Paladin  of  Charlemagne,  in  the  Battle  of  Ron- 

cesvallfs ,     .     .  42 

Entry  of  Godfrey  de  Bouillon  into  Jerusalem       ....  70 
The   Charge  of  the   French    Knights  at  the   IjAttle   of 

Cressy 94 

Capture  of  John  II  of  France  at  the  Battle  of  Poictiers 

1356  A.  d.         .     , 98 

The  Jacquerie 100 

Joan  of  Arc  on  Trial  before  the  Inouisition  at  Rouen    .     .  116 

Louis  XI  of  France  in  Prison  at  Peronne ,122 

Louis  XI,  King  of  France 126 

Catherine  de'  Medici        .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     »     .     .     .     <,  142 

Ambroise  Pake  during  the  Siege  of  Metz    .,...„  146 

The  Massacre  of  St.  1^)Artholomew     ...„,....  158 

HexNRY  III  and  his  I*et  Dogs       ...........  164 

Cardinal  Richelieu ...»..„.  184 

Louis  XIV^  at  the  Salon  of  Madame  de  Maintenon      .     .  216 

Madame  de  Mainti-:non 226 

Madame  de  Pompadour  (Colored)      .     .     „ 244 

The  Court  of  Napoleon  I        ,     «     .     .  324 

The  Return  of  the  (jRand  Army  from  Russia     .....  342 

Napoleon  on  board  the  "  Bellerophon  " „     .  364 

A  Barricade  during  the  Revolution  of  1830 y)a 

Episode  during  the  Battle  ov  Gravelotte 464 

A  Petroleuse  Haranguing  hi:r  Comrades  during  the  Reign 

of  the  Commune  in  Paris         „     .     .     ,     .  470 

xvii 


xviii  LIST     OF     ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING   PAGE 

Victor  Hugo 
Alexandre  Dumas,  pere 


490 


TEXT    MAPS 

PAGE 

France  under  Hugh  Capet      ,,..,.     c     ,,    o.    ,  64 

France  after  the  Expulsion  of  the  English     ,    „    ,    ^     .  118 

Border  Lands  of  France  and  Burgundy      ,     „     »     «     c     .     =  122 

The  Three  Bishoprics  and  Lorraine       .     „     ,     ,     «     =     c     o  146 

Siege  of  Rochelle o     ».     o     ,  186 

The  Barrier  Towns ....000  225 

Battle  of  Waterloo    ...........     o     ..     ,  362 

Europe.     1815       ,     .     .     .     ,     o     .     .     o     »     .     .     «     .     e     .     .  273 

War  on  the  Rhine  Frontier       .     .     .     o     o     ,     .     ,     o     „     .  465 


PART  I 

FROM   BARBARISM  TO  KINGDOxM 
58   B.C.-987  A.D. 


HISTORY  OF  FRANCE 

Chapter    T 

INDEPENDENT  GAUL  AND  ROMAN  GAUL 

TWO  thousand  years  ag"o  the  country  now  called  France 
was  almost  covered  with  immense  forests  and  inhabited 
by  a  population  of  five  millions,  dwelling  together  in  filthy 
villages  or  in  primitive  walled  towns,  and  leading  a  half-civilized 
existence.  The  country  was  then  called  Gaul,  and  the  inhabitants 
Gauls,  but  they  had  few  interests  in  common  and  the  terms  applied 
to  them  by  the  Romans  stood  for  a  geographical  rather  than  a 
social  unity.  To-day  the  forests  have  given  place  to  wheat  fields, 
vineyards,  and  olive  groves ;  the  population  has  increased  eight- 
fold ;  the  towns  and  villages  have  become  cities  famous  for  their 
architectural  beauty,  their  cleanliness,  and  the  wealth  of  art  treas- 
ures that  they  possess;  the  warring  Gallic  tribes  have  grown  into 
a  united,  highly  complex  and  self-conscious  state.  France  has  be- 
come the  leader  of  the  civilized  world  in  literature  and  art,  playing 
in  the  world  society  of  to-day  the  role  that  Greece  formerly  played 
in  the  society  of  the  Mediterranean  basin.  How  this  transforma- 
tion was  wrought,  through  what  vicissitudes  the  French  people 
passed  in  their  struggles  to  become  a  nation,  it  is  the  purpose  of 
this  book  to  show. 

The  Gauls  were  not  the  primitive  inhabitants  of  France,  but 
represented  one  of  the  latest  of  the  human  strata  that  from  time 
to  time  have  been  dejwsited  upon  her  soil.  Thousands  of  years 
before  the  founding  of  R(jme,  thousands  of  years  before  the  exist- 
ence of  human  records — how  many  thousands  no  man  knows — 
even  Ijefore  the  glacial  period,  human  beings  inhabited  this  region 
and  left  behind  them  as  proof  of  their  existence  the  uncanny  evi- 
dence of  their  very  bcjncs  and  the  objects  cunningU'  wrought  by 
their  own  hands.  These  remains  drawn  from  excavations  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  France  show  that  it  was  continuously  inhabited  from 
the  most  remote  times  until  it  became  known  to  the  people  of  tlie 
I\Tediterranean,  and  that  it  passed  through  the  ages  of  cut  and 
polished  stone,  of  copper,  bronze  and  iron.    Although  some  of  their 


4  FRANCE 

descendants  are  found  among  the  population  of  modern  France, 
the  names  of  these  primitive  peoples  are  unknown  to  us,  nor  can 
we  determine  their  relationship  to  those  who  came  after  them  and 
who  are  known  to  us  by  name.  The  evidence  of  their  monuments 
would  seem  to  justify  the  inference  that  they  were  part  of  the 
Mediterranean  race  that  built  up  the  first  civilization  around  that 
inland  sea  and  later  spread  over  Europe  and  the  British  Isles. 

The  known  predecessors  of  the  Gauls  were  the  Iberians,  Ligu- 
rians  and  Greeks.  The  Iberians  at  one  time  occupied  Italy,  Corsica, 
Spain,  and  the  south  of  France.  Their  descendants  are  the  Gascons 
and  the  Basques — different  forms  of  the  same  name — the  Basques 
speaking  even  to-day  the  tongue  of  their  Iberian  ancestors,  an  ag- 
glutinative language  similar  to  those  spoken  by  the  Hungarians, 
the  Finns  and  the  Lapps.  The  Iberians  gave  way  before  the  Ligu- 
rians,  who  spread  over  Europe  from  the  North  Sea  to  the  heart  of 
Italy  and  of  Spain.  They  had  reached  the  former  country  as  early 
as  the  twelfth  century  before  Christ,  but  as  late  as  600  B.C.  the  Iberi- 
ans still  maintained  themselves  in  southwestern  Gaul.  Liguria, 
on  the  gulf  of  Genoa,  was  the  last  place  of  refuge  of  the  Ligurians, 
who  disappeared  before  the  advance  of  the  Celts.  The  Greeks 
established  themselves  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rhone  as  early  as  600 
B.C.,  when  the  Phocsean  colonists  founded  Marseilles.  From  this 
city  the  Greeks  spread  along  the  coast  to  Italy  and  to  the  southwest 
as  far  as  the  straits  of  Gibraltar.  They  built  up  a  considerable  com- 
merce, and  for  some  time  acted  as  middlemen  between  the  Medi- 
terranean world  and  the  Gallic  hinterland.  The  necessity  of  defend- 
ing themselves  against  the  Carthaginians  led  the  people  of  Mar- 
seilles to  ally  themselves  with  the  Romans,  and  it  was  as  the  ally 
of  the  Greek  colony  that  the  Romans  first  entered  Gaul  to  protect 
the  Greeks  against  their  Ligurian  neighbors.  The  presence  of  the 
Greeks  in  southern  Gaul  was  not  without  its  influence  upon  the 
development  tjf  the  people.  It  was  through  tliem  tliat  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  vine  and  the  olive  was  introduced  into  the  south  of 
France;  they  also  acquainted  the  natives  with  the  Greek  alphabet 
and  taught  them  how  to  coin  money. 

The  Celts — tlic  name  by  which  the  Gauls  were  originally 
known  to  the  Greeks  and  Romans — were  in  the  fourth  century 
before  Christ  the  UKjst  powerful  of  the  barl^arian  peoples  of  Europe. 
From  the  valley  of  the  Danube,  by  successive  migrations,  they 
spread  into  Spain  and  Portugal,  into  Italy  and  into  the  East  as  far 


G  A  U  L  5 

as  the  Black  Sea,  the  Balkan  peninsula  and  Asia  ]\Iinor.  In  central 
Europe  they  evidently  dominated  the  Germans.  The  waking  of 
the  Germans  was  the  great  fact  of  tlie  third  century  before  Christ. 
Under  the  impulse  of  the  southward  push  of  the  Germanic  tribes 
behind  them,  the  Celts  invaded  Greece  and  Asia  Minor,  Italy  and 
Gaul,  but  were  unable  to  hold  for  any  length  of  time  much  of  the 
territory  thus  acquired.  In  Spain  they  gave  way  before  the  Car- 
thaginians, in  Italy  before  the  rising  power  of  Rome,  and  in  cen- 
tral Europe  before  the  Germans.  In  the  second  century  before 
Christ  little  was  left  to  them  besides  the  region  embraced  by  the 
Rhine,  the  Alps,  the  P^Tcnees  and  the  Atlantic.  It  was  in  this 
century  that  the  name  Gauls,  as  applied  to  the  Celts,  first  appears 
in  the  writings  of  the  Romans.  Gaul  was  the  name  of  the  country 
wdthin  the  limits  already  mentioned.  It  w^as  divided,  as  Cassar 
stated,  into  three  parts — Aquitania,  Celtica,  Belgium.  Acquita- 
nians,  Celts  and  Belgians  were  known  by  the  common  name  of 
Gauls. 

Our  knowledge  of  the  state  of  Gallic  society  at  the  time  of 
the  Roman  conquest  is  drawn  largely  from  the  "Commentaries" 
of  Caesar.  In  the  portrait  of  the  Gaul  drawn  by  Roman  waiters 
are  many  traits  that  are  noticeable  in  the  modern  Frenchman : 
"  Courage  pushed  to  temerity,  an  open  mind,  a  sociable,  communi- 
cative humor,  taste  and  talent  for  oratory.  .  .  .  With  that  a 
blind  enthusiasm,  an  insupportable  braggartism,  little  continuity 
in  their  plans,  little  firmness  in  their  enterprises,  little  constancy  in 
reverses,  of  an  extreme  mobility,  with  little  inclination  for  rule  or 
discipline." 

The  organization  of  the  Gallic  family  was  similar  to  that  of 
the  Roman,  the  father  having  the  power  of  life  and  death  over 
his  children  and  over  his  wife.  Curiously  inconsistent  with  this 
position  of  slavish  insubordination  were  the  property  relations  be- 
tween man  and  wife.  "  Whatever  sums  of  money  the  husbands 
have  received  in  dowry  from  their  wives."  Vv'rote  Ca?sar,  ''  making 
an  estimate  of  it,  they  add  the  same  amount  out  of  their  own  estates. 
An  account  is  kept  of  all  this  money  conjointly  and  the  profits  are 
laid  by;  whichever  of  them  shall  have  survived  the  other,  to  that 
one  the  portion  of  both  reverts,  together  with  the  profits  of  the 
previous  time." 

But  two  orders  of  men  in  Gaul  possessed  authority  and  dignity, 
the  druids  and  knig-hts.     At  the  bottom  of  the  social  scale  were  the 


6  FRANCE 

slaves.  The  great  mass  of  the  population,  in  a  state  of  clientage, 
dependent  upon  the  knights  or  nobles,  "  dared  to  undertake  nothing 
for  itself  and  was  admitted  to  no  deliberation."  The  nobles  most 
distinguished  by  their  birth  and  resources  had  the  greatest  number 
of  vassals  and  dependents  about  them.  The  intrigues  and  wars  of 
these  great  feudal  lords  kept  Gaul  in  a  state  of  perpetual  discord. 
The  druids  were  priests  and  ministers  of  justice.  They  conducted 
private  and  public  sacrifices  and  interpreted  all  matters  of  religion. 
They  also  decided  "  concerning  almost  all  controversies,  public  and 
private ;  and  if  any  crime  had  been  perpetrated,  if  murder  had 
been  committed,  if  there  was  any  dispute  about  an  inheritance,  any 
about  boundaries,  these  same  persons  decided  it ;  they  decreed  re- 
wards and  punishments.  If  any  one  either  in  a  public  or  in  a 
private  capacity  did  not  submit  to  their  decisions,  they  interdicted 
him  from  the  sacrifices.  Those  who  had  been  thus  interdicted  were 
esteemed  in  the  number  of  the  impious  and  the  criminal.  All 
shunned  them  and  avoided  their  society  and  conversation,  lest  they 
receive  some  evil  from  their  contact;  nor  w^as  justice  administered 
to  them  when  seeking  it,  nor  any  dignity  bestowed  upon  them." 
The  druids  did  not  go  to  war  nor  pay  tribute  like  the  rest,  but  were 
exempted  from  military  service  and  had  a  dispensation  in  all 
matters. 

The  religion  of  the  Gauls  was  a  naturalistic  polytheism.  "  They 
adored  the  forces  of  nature,  conceived  as  so  many  animate  con- 
scious beings  whose  favor  was  conciliated  by  certain  rites  and 
formulae."  Lakes,  rivers,  brooks  and  trees  were  objects  of  wor- 
ship. The  list  of  the  names  of  the  gods  of  Gaul  is  a  long  one; 
of  many  of  these  we  know*  nothing  but  the  name.  *'  The  nation  of 
the  Gauls,"  wrote  Caesar,  "  is  extremely  devoted  to  superstitious 
rites ;  and  on  that  account  they  who  are  troul^led  with  unusually 
severe  diseases,  and  they  wdio  are  engaged  in  battles  and  dangers, 
either  sacrifice  men  as  victims,  or  vow  that  they  will  sacrifice  them, 
and  employ  the  druids  as  the  performers  of  these  sacrifices :  because 
they  think  that  unless  the  life  of  a  man  be  offered  for  the  life  of  a 
man,  the  mind  of  the  immortal  gods  cannot  be  rendered  ])ropitious, 
and  they  make  sacrifices  of  that  kind  ordained  for  national  pur- 
poses. Others  have  figures  of  vast  size,  the  limbs  of  which,  formed 
of  osiers,  they  fill  with  living  men,  which  being  set  on  fire,  the  m,en 
perish  in  the  flames.  They  consider  that  the  oblation  of  such  as 
have  been  taken  in  theft,  or  in  robbery,  or  any  other  offense,  is 


GAUL  7 

more  acceptable  to  tlie  immortal  gods ;  but  when  a  supply  of  that 
class  is  wanting,  they  have  recourse  to  the  oblation  of  even  the 
innocent." 

The  druids  taught  the  immortality  of  the  soul  and  its  transmi- 
gration. "They  looked  upon  the  god  of  death  (Dispater)  as  the 
father  of  all  the  Gauls  .  .  ,  for  is  not  death  the  source  of 
life  as  well  as  its  end?  " 

Grouped  with  the  druids  were  two  other  classes  of  men,  the 
cubages,  or  divines,  and  the  bards.  The  first  performed  sacrifices 
and  attempted  to  discover  the  secrets  of  the  future;  they  were 
probably  a  suborder  of  druids,  performing  a  part  of  the  druidical 
functions.  The  bards  were  the  poets  and  singers  of  the  Gauls. 
While  their  functions  are  very  clearly  determined,  their  place  in  the 
sacerdotal  hierarchy  is  not  at  all  clear.  Perhaps  they  formed  no 
part  of  it.  "  They  narrated  the  adventures  of  gods  and  men,  the 
glories  of  the  past  and  the  present,  the  exploits  of  heroes  and  the 
shame  of  the  coward,  accompanying  themselves  upon  a  harp  or 
lyre."  They  were  the  accredited  interpreters  of  the  national  and 
religious  tradition. 

Among  the  Gauls  each  tribe  had  originally  its  special  chief, 
who  ordinarily  assumed  tlie  title  of  king.  Each  tribe  had  also  a 
species  of  military  equestrian  corps,  composed  of  nobles  or  knights, 
and  each  of  these  nobles,  according  to  his  rank  or  standing,  ex- 
tended his  protection  to  a  number  of  retainers,  men  of  free  though 
inferior  condition,  who  escorted  him  everywhere,  followed  him  to 
the  wars  and  were  ready  to  die  for  him.  ]\Tatters  affecting  the  com- 
mon interests  of  the  whole  community  were  discussed  at  certain 
periods,  in  an  assembly  formed  by  deputies  from  the  different 
tribes. 

About  300  B.C.  the  royal  government  \vas  abolished  in  most 
of  the  cities  of  Gaul  in  the  midst  of  revolutions.  The  warriors  and 
the  druids  fought  for  supremacy  and  the  w^hole  of  Gaul  was 
weakened  by  their  divisions.  This  intestine  contest  was  still  going 
on  when,  154  B.C.,  tlie  Greek  inhabitants  of  jMarscilles  invoked  and 
obtained  the  assistance  of  Rome  against  some  Gallic  tribes  in  the 
vicinity.  In  121  B.C.  the  Romans,  taking  advantage  of  disputes 
which  had  broken  out  between  the  ylidui,  the  Allobroges  and  Ar- 
verni,  gained  two  great  victories  over  them  under  the  leadership 
of  the  consul  Fabius.  A  portion  of  the  country  of  the  Allobroges, 
Dauphine,  was  reduced  to  a  Roman  province,  as  well  as  the  entire 


8  FRANCE 

118-56    B.C. 

seaboard  of  the  Mediterranean  as  far  as  the  Pyrenees.  There  the 
Romans  founded,  ii8  B.C.,  a  celebrated  colony,  that  of  Narbonne, 
and  gave  the  name  of  Narbonensis  to  the  province  formed  in  the 
south  of  Gaul.  They  did  not  cross  the  limits  of  the  colony  until 
about  the  middle  of  the  first  century  b.c.  They  had  in  the  interval 
to  repulse  a  formidable  invasion  of  the  Teutons,  who  were  success- 
fully checked  by  Marius,  102  B.C.,  near  the  city  of  Aix. 

Forty  years  later  came  Julius  Cassar,  whose  victories  in  Gaul 
made  him  absolute  master,  not  only  of  that  country,  but  of  Rome 
itself. 

At  the  time  of  Caesar's  arrival  the  opposing  factions  in  Gaul 
were  the  iEdui  and  the  Sequani,  of  whom  the  latter  had  gained  for 
awhile  the  preponderance  in  the  country  by  the  assistance  of  Ario- 
vistus,  King  of  the  Suevi,  whom  they  attached  to  themselves  by 
presents  and  promises.  The  future  conqueror  first  displayed  him- 
self to  the  Gallic  nations  in  the  character  of  a  protector.  They 
were  menaced  by  a  formidable  invasion.  Three  hundred  thousand 
Helvetians,  after  burning  their  own  towns  and  ruining  their  own 
fields,  so  as  to  destroy  all  hope  of  return,  had  just  invaded  the  coun- 
try of  the  Sequani  and  the  ^dui,  and  had  fallen  upon  the  neigh- 
boring Allobroges,  when,  summoned  by  these  nations,  Caesar 
appeared  at  the  head  of  his  legions,  defeated  the  Helvetians  in  three 
sanguinary  engagements  and  drove  them  beyond  the  Jura,  into 
the  deserts  they  had  themselves  produced.  Some  time  later  the 
Gauls  conjured  him  to  deliver  them  from  Ariovistus  and  his  Ger- 
mans, who,  called  in  l)y  the  imprudent  Sequani,  were  now  oppress- 
ing their  own  allies  and  the  whole  of  eastern  Gaul.  Caesar  re- 
sponded to  their  appeal  and  marched  against  Ariovistus.  The 
Germans  were  totally  defeated  and  their  army  dispersed. 

The  domination  of  the  Germans  was  succeeded  by  that  of  the 
Romans,  and  the  Gauls,  perceiving  that  they  had  given  themselves 
a  master  in  this  formidable  auxiliary,  applied  to  the  Belgians  to 
deliver  them  from  the  Romans.  The  Belgians  readily  entered  into 
a  league  with  other  Gauls,  but  Caesar  had  made  an  alliance  with 
one  of  their  most  important  tribes,  the  Remi,  and,  introduced  by 
them  into  the  heart  of  Belgium,  he  crushed  the  confederates  on 
the  banks  of  the  Aisne,  and  then  well-nigh  exterminated  the  Nervii, 
people  of  Hainault,  beyond  the  Sambre,  and  the  Aduatici,  a  people 
encamped  between  the  Sambre  and  the  Meuse.  His  lieutenant, 
Crassus,  thereupon  subjugated  Armorica,  and  already  the  whole 


GAUL  9 

.56-53  B.C. 

of  Gaul  seemed  conquered.  But  the  resolutions  of  the  Gauls  were 
prompt  and  unforeseen.  In  the  following  year,  56  B.C.,  during  Caesar's 
absence  in  Illyria,  the  Veneti,  relying  on  the  situation  of  their  towns, 
which  were  inaccessible  by  land  and  defended  by  an  internal  sea, 
the  gulf  of  Morbihan,  with  whose  ports,  isles  and  shoals  the  Romans 
were  unacquainted,  gave  the  signal  for  revolt.  The  tribes  of  Ar- 
morica  at  once  followed  their  lead,  and  the  Britons  also  promised 
them  assistance.  Caesar  thereupon  marched  from  Illyria,  and, 
having  built  a  fleet  at  the  mouth  of  the  Loire,  sternly  repressed  the 
revolt.  While  Caesar  was  thus  subjugating  Armorica,  his  lieu- 
tenant Sabinus  occupied,  after  several  engagements,  all  the  terri- 
tory between  that  country  and  the  Seine,  and  Crassus,  being  also 
victorious  in  the  south,  between  the  Loire  and  the  Garonne,  and 
from  the  latter  river  to  the  Pyrenees,  tlie  whole  of  Gaul  was  again 
subdued. 

After  defeating  400,000  Usipetes  at  the  confluence  of  the 
Rhine  and  the  Meuse,  Caesar  resolved  to  invade  Britain,  to  punish 
the  Britons  for  the  assistance  they  had  given  the  Veneti.  Lie  ef- 
fected a  landing  and  defeated  the  Britons  in  several  engagements ; 
but  a  tempest  broke  up  and  dispersed  a  portion  of  his  fleet,  and 
Caesar  found  himself  compelled  to  abandon  the  expedition  and  re- 
turn to  Gaul.  This  precipitate  departure,  in  spite  of  several  vic- 
tories, resembled  a  flight.  Caesar  consequently  returned  the  fol- 
lowing year,  54  B.C.,  with  several  legions  and  a  formidable  fleet. 
He  landed  without  opposition,  pursued  the  Britons  into  the  interior 
of  the  island,  fomented  divisions  among  them,  attacked,  defeated 
and  subdued  them.  He  imposed  an  annual  tribute,  received  their 
hostages,  and  returned  with  a  multitude  of  captives  and  without 
the  loss  of  a  single  vessel. 

The  Gallic  war,  in  which  up  to  this  time  most  of  the  tribes 
had  fought  separately,  appeared  to  be  at  an  end.  Unexpectedly 
they  united,  and  it  broke  out  again  more  terrible  than  ever.  The 
two  chiefs  of  the  new  confederation,  which  was  first  formed  in 
Belgium,  were  Indutiomarus  of  the  Treviri,  and  Ambiorix  of 
the  Eburones.  The  latter  surprised  a  legion  on  the  march  and  ex- 
terminated it,  while  the  v,"ar]ike  tri1)es  of  the  north  of  Cambrcsis 
and  Hainault  compelled  ancjlhcr  legion,  quartered  among  tlieni, 
to  seek  safety  in  an  entrenched  camp.  Caesar  was  a  kjng  \vay  off, 
but  he  came  in  haste  with  only  7,000  legionaries,  dispersed  the 
multitude  of  Gauls,  and  liberated  the  camp.     Winter  suspended 


10  F  R  A  N  C  E 

53-52    B.C. 

military  operations ;  but  both  sides  prepared  for  a  new  war.  As 
soon  as  spring  set  in,  Indutiomarus,  the  confederate  of  Ambiorix, 
marched  against  Labienus,  who  was  quartered  among  the  Remi ; 
but  the  Gaul  was  defeated  and  his  head  sent  to  the  generah  Cresar 
completely  crushed  the  Treviri  and  then,  marching  through  the 
forest  of  Ardennes,  fell  on  the  Eburones.  In  a  few  days  this  un- 
fortunate people  was  annihilated,  and  the  whole  of  northern  Gaul 
appeared  for  the  time  pacified.  In  the  same  year  the  general  as- 
sembly of  the  Gauls,  presided  over  by  Csesar,  was  held  at  Lutetia, 
the  capital  of  the  Parish. 

As  soon  as  Caesar  had  recrossed  the  Alps,  all  the  nations  of 
Gaul,  stung  into  revolt  by  the  barbarities  committed  in  Belgium, 
combined  against  the  Romans  under  a  young  Auvergnat  chief 
named  Vercingetorix.  The  rising  commenced  with  the  massacre 
of  the  Romans  quartered  in  the  city  of  Genabum,  now  Orleans. 
Soon  after  this  Vercingetorix,  who  had  taken  possession  of  the 
fortified  town  of  Gergovia  (Clermont)  and  called  on  the  GalHc 
tribes  to  rise  in  self-defense,  found  himself  at  the  head  of  a  numer- 
ous army,  with  which  he  prepared  to  march  against  the  Roman 
legions  scattered  through  Belgium.  Suddenly  it  was  learned  that 
Caesar  had  reappeared  in  Gaul,  and  was  now  carrying  fire  and 
sword  into  Arvernia.  Vercingetorix  turned  back  to  the  defense  of 
his  native  country,  and  Caesar  was  enabled  to  join  the  forces  in 
the  north  from  whom  he  had  been  separated.  After  the  juncture 
had  been  effected,  Caesar  marched  into  the  territory  of  the  Bitur- 
ges.  To  check  his  advance,  Vercingetorix  burned  many  of  tlie 
towns,  only  Avaricum  (Bourges),  one  of  the  most  prosperous  in 
Gaul,  being  spared.  This  town  Caesar  soon  took  by  storm,  and 
then  proceeded  with  his  whole  army  to  besiege  Gergovia,  where 
Vercingetorix  had  arrived  before  him.  Caesar  attacked  it  with  liis 
accustomed  vigor,  but  Vercingetorix  drove  the  Romans  in  disorder 
into  the  plain.  There  they  were  surrounded,  and  would  have  been 
destroyed  had  it  not  been  for  the  immortal  tenth  legion,  which 
checked  the  advance  of  the  enemy  and  enabled  the  fugitives  to  re- 
enter their  lines.  This  compelled  Caesar  to  raise  the  siege  and 
withdraw  beyond  the  Loire  to  obtain  reinforcements.  He  even 
thought  of  retiring  temporarily  to  the  Roman  province.  Vercinge- 
torix, however,  moved  rapidly  forward  to  intercept  tlic  retreat  of 
Caesar,  and  came  up  with  him.  A  battle  took  place,  in  wliicli  the 
Gallic  leader  was  defeated  and   obliged  to  seek  safety,   with   the 


G  A  U  L  11 

52    B.C. -14    A.D. 

relics  of  his  army,  behind  the  walls  of  Alesia,  one  of  the  strongest 
places  in  Gaul.     Thither  Ca:^sar  immediately  followed  him. 

The  sieg'c  of  Alesia  is  the  most  memorable  event  in  the  conquest 
of  Gaul.  Oesar  undertook  it  with  forces  inferior  to  those  of  the 
besieged,  and  carried  it  on  in  sight  of  200,000  Gauls,  who  had 
hurried  up  from  all  points  to  succor  the  city,  w-hich,  being  already 
closely  invested  and  suffering  from  the  horrors  of  famine,  despaired 
of  deliverance,  A  supreme  effort  made  by  this  immense  army  to 
crush  the  Romans  and  relieve  the  city  was  frustrated  by  the  German 
horse  in  Czesar's  pay,  who  took  the  enemy  in  the  rear  just  when  the 
Romans  were  forcing  them  back  in  fror.L  A  panic  terror  seized  on 
the  Gauls.  They  fled  in  disorder,  and  fell  in  thousands  beneath 
the  swords  of  the  Romans.  Vercingetorix,  being  unable  to  prolong 
the  defense  of  the  city,  surrendered  to  Cresar,  wdio  sent  him  in  chains 
to  Rome.  There  he  languished  in  prison  for  six  years.  Finally  he 
died  by  the  hand  of  the  executioner,  Gaul  never  recovered  from  the 
great  disaster  it  had  undergone  at  the  siege  of  Alesia.  One  more 
campaign  sufficed  for  Caesar  to  extinguish  the  smoldering  revolt 
in  all  parts  of  the  territory  and  bring  it  completely  under  his  powder. 
Throughout  the  whole  of  this  terrible  war  Caesar  had  shrunk  from 
no  cruelty,  however  atrocious  and  unwarrantable,  to  accomplish 
his  purpose;  but  once  undisputed  master  of  a  country  whose  in- 
habitants he  kne\v  to  1)e  too  brave  to  be  held  in  slavery  by  rigor, 
he  resolved  to  win  them  by  entirely  different  conduct,  and  rendered 
their  yoke  easy.  The  country  was  reduced  to  the  state  of  a  Roman 
province,  but  Cassar  spared  it  confiscations  and  onerous  burdens ; 
the  cities  preserved  their  government  and  laws  and  the  tribute  he 
imposed  on  the  conquered  was  paid  under  the  title  of  "  military 
pay."  Reckoning  on  their  support  for  the  execution  of  his  am- 
bitious plans,  he  enrolled  the  best  Gallic  warriors  in  his  legions, 
conquered  Rome  herself  by  their  help,  and  gave  them  in  recompense 
riches  and  honors.  Even  the  Roman  senate  wms  opened  to  the 
Gauls, 

Thus  Gaul  lost  its  independence  and  became  a  part  of  the  world 
empire  of  Rome,  Caesar's  successor,  Augustus,  who  gave  an 
organization  to  Gaul,  maintained  the  division  of  the  country  into 
four  great  provinces,  but  changed  their  limits,  and  gave  the  name 
of  Lugdunensis  to  Gallia  Celtica,  which  w\as  restricted  to  the  terri- 
tory contained  between  the  Seine,  the  Saone  and  the  Loire,  and 
detached  from  it  on  the  east  a  territory  to  which  he  gTive  the  name 


12  FRANCE 

14-272  A.D. 

of  Sequanensis  and  joined  to  Gallia  Belgica.  The  latter,  when 
thus  enlarged,  had  for  its  boundaries  the  Rhine,  the  Seine,  the 
Saone  and  the  Alps,  Aquitania,  hitherto  enclosed  between  the 
Pyrenees  and  the  Garonne,  extended  as  far  as  the  Loire ;  and  lastly, 
Gallia  Narbonensis  was  comprised  between  the  ^Tediterranean,  tlie 
Pyrenees,  the  Cevennes  and  the  Alps.  Eventually,  under  Diocle- 
tian, the  Roman  empire  was  divided  into  four  great  prefectures. 
That  of  Gaul,  whose  chief  city  was  Treves,  comprised  three  great 
dioceses  or  vicarships — Britain,  Spain  and  Gaul.  The  latter  was 
divided  for  the  last  time  at  the  close  of  the  fourth  century  into 
seventeen  provinces,  containing  one  hundred  and  fourteen  cities. 
Gaul  remained  for  four  centuries  subject  to  the  Romans.  Every- 
thing there  became  Roman;  there  were  knights  and  senators,  and 
the  druids  became  priests  of  the  Roman  polytheism.  The  old  laws 
disappeared,  and  in  the  fifth  century  there  were  few  traces  of  Gallic 
institutions  in  Gaul.  The  Gauls  ti"ansferred  to  the  arts  of  peace 
that  intelligent  activity  which  for  so  many  years  they  had  fruitlessly 
expended  in  war,  and  Roman  Gaul  was  for  a  long  time  flourishing. 
The  forests  were  cut  down ;  roads  were  made ;  new  cities  were 
founded,  w^hile  those  already  in  existence  increased  in  extent  and 
opulence.  Lutetia,  afterwards  known  as  Paris,  became  the  resi- 
dence of  the  Csesars,  and  schools,  which  soon  became  flourishing, 
were  established  in  several  cities. 

Christianity  was  introduced  into  Gaul  towards  the  middle  of 
the  second  century  by  some  priests  from  the  church  at  Smyrna.  The 
pious  missionaries  settled  in  Lyons  about  the  year  i6o,  and  made 
many  converts  to  tlie  new  faith.  The  Roman  emperors,  however, 
were  hostile  to  Christianity,  and  amid  the  persecutions  that  they 
ordered  no  country  counted  more  heroic  martyrs  than  Gaul  and 
no  church  was  more  fertilized  by  their  blood  than  that  of  Lyons. 
Bishop  Pothinus,  ninety  years  of  age,  was  stoned  by  the  people, 
but  L-enseus,  surnamed  the  "  Light  of  the  West,"  collected  at  a 
later  date  the  dispersed  members  of  the  church  of  Lyons,  and 
towards  the  middle  of  the  third  centurv  Christianity  was  carried 
into  the  rest  of  Gaul  by  seven  bishops,  who,  leaving  Rome,  pro- 
ceeded to  various  points  of  the  Gallic  territory.  All  of  them  ac- 
quired the  crown  of  martyrdom.  Among  these  the  most  celebrated 
w'as  St.  Denis,  who  halted  on  the  banks  of  the  Seine  at  Lutetia. 
He  was  decapitated  near  that  city  on  IMontmartre  and  interred  in 
the  plain  which  still  bears  his  name. 


GAUL  13 

260-359  A.D. 

Gaul,  subdued  by  the  civilization  of  Rome  as  much  as  by  her 
arms,  was,  under  the  first  emperors,  tranquil  and  resii^ned.  But 
eventually  the  country  suffered  greatly  through  the  disorders  of 
the  empire  and  the  perpetual  revolutions  that  shook  it,  and  for 
nearly  two  centuries  Gaul  served  as  the  battlefield  for  the  generals 
who  contested  the  empire.  Already  the  numerous  and  formidable 
tribes,  formed  into  a  confederation  in  Germany,  had  tried  on  several 
occasions  to  reach  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine,  and  had  occupied,  on 
the  frontiers,  the  principal  strength  of  the  Roman  armies.  In  this 
incessantly  returning  peril  and  in  the  midst  of  the  general  disorder, 
the  ties  that  connected  the  provinces  to  the  empire  became  daily 
relaxed  and  towards  the  middle  of  the  third  century  Gaul  made 
an  effort  to  detach  itself.  The  legions  of  the  prefecture  of  Gaul 
recognized  as  emperor,  about  tlie  year  260,  one  of  their  generals, 
of  the  name  of  Posthumus,  of  Gallic  origin.  He  was  assassinated, 
but  had,  during  thirteen  years,  several  successors,  known  in  history 
under  the  name  of  the  Gallic  Caesars.  Tetricus,  the  last  of  these, 
betrayed  his  army,  and  surrendered  himself  to  the  Emperor  Au- 
relian.  After  the  voluntary  fall  of  the  Gallic  chief,  the  Germanic 
tribes  invaded  Gaul  and  ravaged  it.  Devastated  by  barbarians, 
crushed  with  taxes  imposed  by  the  various  candidates  to  empire, 
and  exhausted  of  men  and  money,  the  country  at  length  fell  into 
the  most  miserable  condition.  So  great  was  its  desolation  that  free- 
men frequently  made  themselves  serfs  or  slaves  in  order  to  escape 
the  obligation  of  bearing  a  share  of  the  public  burdens.  A  revolt  of 
the  serfs,  towards  the  close  of  the  third  century,  was  crushed  by 
Maximian ;  but  his  victory  did  not  restore  life  to  the  Gallic  nation, 
for  the  decaying  empire  imparted  its  own  distress  to  all  the  nations 
it  had  conquered. 

Gaul  breathed  again,  however,  during  a  few  years  under  the 
protecting  administration  of  Ccesar  Constantius  Chlorus,  who  was 
called  to  the  imperial  throne  in  305  by  the  double  abdication  of 
Diocletian  and  Maximian.  After  him,  Constantine,  his  son,  was 
proclaimed  emperor  by  the  army,  and  Christianity  began  its  milder 
reign.  Persecution  ceased,  and  this  prince,  like  his  father,  made 
great  efforts  to  restore  prosperity  to  the  cities  of  Gaul  and  security 
to  its  frontiers,  but  the  dissensions  which  troubled  the  empire  u]K)n 
his  death  drew  down  fresh  calamities  upon  it.  The  barbarians  drove 
back,  as  far  as  the  Seine,  the  legions  intrusted  with  the  defense 
of  the  Rhine.     Terror  reigned  in  the  ruined  cities  of  Gaul,  until 


14  FRANCE 

359-387   A.D. 

Julian,  by  a  memorable  victory  gained  in  359  near  Strasburg  over 
seven  Alemannic  chiefs,  freed  Gaul  for  some  time  from  the  pres- 
ence of  the  barbarians.  He  selected  as  his  residence  Lutetia  and 
employed  with  indefatigable  ardor  the  leisure  of  peace  to  repair 
the  ravages  of  war. 

But  Gaul  was  destined  to  find  no  permanent  help  in  the  empire, 
powerless  to  defend  its  extended  frontiers  against  the  repeated 
attacks  of  the  German.  In  the  disintegration  of  the  great  world- 
state  in  the  fifth  century  Gaul  was  possessed,  almost  without  an 
effort,  by  the  hardy  tribes  from  beyond  the  Rhine. 


Chapter   II 

THE  GERMANIC  INVASIONS  AND  THE  MEROVINGIAN 
KINGDOMS.     387-752  A.D. 

IN  the  third  century  of  our  era  three  formidable  confederations 
closed  Germany,  from  the  shores  of  the  Bakic  to  the  sources 
of  the  Rhine  and  the  Danube,  against  the  imperial  armies  and 
fleets — the  Saxons  in  the  north,  the  Franks  in  the  west,  and  the 
Alemanni  in  the  south,  while  the  Goths  were  encamped  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Danube. 

All  these  nations,  among-  which  the  Roman  Empire  of  the  West 
was  eventually  divided,  did  not  attack  it  at  the  outset  with  the 
intention  of  destroying  it.  Impelled  by  irresistible  causes  to  cross 
its  frontiers,  they  were  all  eager  to  have  their  conquest  legitimated 
by  concessions  and  treaties  which  incorporated  them  with  the  em- 
pire, whose  powerful  organization  and  superior  civilization  filled 
them  with  astonishment  and  admiration.  The  Franks  were  among 
the  barbarians  who  received  large  concessions  of  territory  in  Gaul 
long  before  the  epoch  assigned  to  their  first  invasion.  Repulsed 
from  the  banks  of  the  Weser  by  the  Saxons,  two  of  the  principal 
tribes  of  the  Frank  confederation  emigrated  in  the  third  century 
and  drew  nearer  to  the  frontier  of  Batavia.  The  Romans  gave 
these  Franks  the  name  of  Salics,  according  to  all  appearance  from 
that  of  the  Isala,  on  whose  banks  they  had  been  encamped  for  a 
long  period.  By  favor  of  the  civil  wars  and  revolts  which  agitated 
northern  Gaul  at  the  end  of  the  third  century,  they  crossed  the  river 
and  established  tliemselves  in  Batavia.  The  Emperor  Alaximian, 
after  attempting  in  vain  to  ex])el  them  from  the  empire,  allowed 
the  Salic  Franks  to  settle,  about  387.  as  military  colonists,  between 
the  Moselle  and  the  Scheldt.  A  few  years  later  two  other  Frankish 
tribes  crossed  the  Rhine  in  order  to  support  the  claims  of  the  usurper 
Carausius  to  the  imperial  throne.  Constantius  Chlorus  and  Con- 
stantine  his  son  contended  against  them  for  a  long  time,  and  the 
Emperor  Julian,  after  conquering  them,  allowed  them  to  found  a 
military  colony  between  the  Rhine  and  the  Meuse.     These  Franks 

15 


16  FRANCE 

387-451 

were  called  Ripuarii,  from  the  Latin  word  ripa,  because  they  settled 
along  the  banks  of  the  Rhine. 

The  Salic  Franks  and  Ripuarian  Franks  occupied  nearly  the 
same  respective  positions  in  the  fifth  century.  At  this  period  the 
empire  was  divided  between  the  sons  of  Thcodosius,  Honorius 
reigning  at  Rome  and  Arcadius  at  Constantinople.  Gaul  formed 
part  of  Honorius's  share,  and  under  this  weak  prince,  in  the  west 
the  empire  gave  way  on  all  sides.  A  multitude  of  causes  had 
hastened  its  dissolution.  Anarchy  was  supreme  in  the  state ;  the 
barbarians  plundered  that  which  they  were  badly  paid  to  defend. 
In  vain  Rome  humiliated  itself  so  deeply  as  to  become  their  tribu- 
tary, endeavoring  to  stop  by  presents  these  rude  foes  against  whom 
it  could  no  longer  effect  anything  by  its  arms  or  the  majesty  of 
its  name.  The  work  of  destruction  commenced,  and  in  spite  of 
a  few  fortunate  days  for  the  Roman  arms,  the  invading  forces 
never  halted  till  they  had  swallowed  up  the  empire,  and  even 
Rome  itself. 

The  Suevi  and  Vandals  entered  Gaul  in  406,  and  from  that 
date  up  to  476,  the  epoch  when  a  barbarian  chief  deposed  the  last 
emperor,  Italy  and  Gaul  were  the  scene  of  war  and  desolation,  in 
which  many  peoples  of  different  origin  came  into  conflict.  The 
Suevi  and  Vandals  were  followed  by  the  Visigoths,  or  western 
Goths,  from  the  left  bank  of  the  Danube,  who,  after  ravaging  one 
half  of  the  empire  and  sacking  Rome,  obtained  from  the  Emperor 
Honorius  the  concession  of  the  southern  territory  of  Gaul,  situated 
to  the  west  of  the  Rhone.  The  empire  in  the  west  was  dismembered 
on  all  sides.  The  island  of  Britain  had  already  been  abandoned  by 
the  Romans,  and  the  Armorican  provinces  of  western  Gaul  rose  in 
insurrection.  In  about  the  same  period  the  Burgundians  crossed 
the  Rhine,  and  in  413  founded  on  Gallic  territory  a  first  Burgun- 
dian  kingdom  between  Mayence  and  Strasburg. 

Valentinian  III.  succeeded  Honorius  in  424,  and  reigned  in 
sloth  and  indolence  at  Ravenna,  to  which  city  the  seat  of  the  Empire 
in  the  West  had  been  transferred.  Aetius,  brought  up  as  a  hostage 
in  the  camp  of  the  Visigoth  conqueror,  Alaric,  commanded  the 
Roman  armies.  This  skillful  general,  the  last  whom  Rome  pos- 
sessed, had  subjugated  several  barbarous  tribes  established  in  Gaul 
— the  Franks,  Visigoths,  and  Burgundians.  But  at  this  moment 
other  barbarians  poured  over  that  country.  The  Huns,  a  Scythian 
people,  the  most  cruel  and  savage  of  all,  left  the  shores  of  the 


MEROVINGIAN     KINGDOMS  17 

451-480 

Euxine,  led  by  Attila.  Guided  by  the  instinct  of  destruction,  they 
are  reported  to  have  said  of  themselves  that  they  were  going  whither 
the  wrath  of  God  called  them.  They  entered  Gaul  and  burned  and 
devastated  everything  in  their  path  as  far  as  Orleans.  They  threat- 
ened Paris,  and  the  Parisians  attrilnited  the  salvation  of  their  city  to 
the  prayers  of  St.  Genevieve.  Finally  the  Romans  and  Visigoths, 
allied  under  the  command  of  Aetius  and  Theodoric,  compelled  the 
Pluns  to  retreat.  Attila  fell  back  into  Champagne,  and  there,  near 
Mcry-sur-Seine,  a  frightful  battle  took  place  in  die  year  451.  It  was 
w^on  by  Aetius.  Merovius,  Chief  of  the  Franks,  fought  with  the 
Romans  and  Visigoths  on  this  memorable  day,  and  contributed 
greatly  to  the  victory. 

Gaul  remained  the  scene  of  brutal  struggles  between  the  dif- 
ferent tribes  that  occupied  the  country,  and  each  moment  of  repose 
was  followed  by  a  new  and  frightful  crisis.  For  a  few  years  longer 
Roman  generals  struggled  to  maintain  a  vestige  of  imperial  autlior- 
ity  in  Gaul.  Majorienus,  proclaimed  emperor  in  457,  had  chosen 
as  his  lieutenant  in  Gaul  and  master  of  the  militia,  /Egidius.  who 
belonged  to  one  of  the  great  families  of  the  country  and  was  dis- 
tinguished by  the  most  eminent  qualities.  Merovius,  King  of  the 
Salic  Franks,  having  died  in  456,  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Child- 
eric,  who  was  proclaimed  king  in  spite  of  his  extreme  youth,  but 
was  soon  afterwards  dethroned  and  expelled  by  the  people  w-Iio 
had  raised  him  on  the  shield.  The  Franks,  no  longer  possessing 
a  prince  of  the  royal  race,  voluntarily  subjected  themselves  to 
TEgidius  and  recognized  him  as  their  chief.  But  /ligidius,  having 
been  declared  an  enemy  of  the  cmjMre  by  the  Roman  senate,  the 
Franks  recalled  Childeric,  placed  him  again  at  their  head  and  helped 
in  the  overthrow  of  yEgidius.  Childeric,  at  a  later  date,  was  him- 
self invested  with  the  dignity  of  master  of  the  militia  and  fought 
for  the  empire  against  the  barbarians  who  were  rending  it  asunder. 
Thus,  with  the  approval  of  the  empire,  did  the  Germans  possess 
themselves  of  Gaul. 

The  empire  terminated  its  lengthened  agony  between  the  years 
475  and  480.  Gaul,  upon  tlie  fall  of  the  empire,  was  divided  between 
the  Visigoths,  under  Euric,  in  the  south ;  the  peoples  of  Armorica, 
in  the  west;  the  Germans  and  Burgundians,  in  the  east;  and  tlie 
Franks,  in  the  north.  The  latter,  still  divided  into  two  groups,  the 
Salic  and  the  Ripuarian,  occupied  nearly  the  same  territory  they  had 
conquered,  the  possession  of  which  had  been  confirmed  to  them 


18  FRANCE 

480-493 

in  the  two  previous  centuries.  The  Ripuarian  Franks,  who  occupied 
the  two  banks  of  tlie  Rhine,  extended  on  the  Prankish  side  of  that 
river  as  far  as  the  Scheldt.  The  Sahc  Franks  occupied,  l)etween 
the  Scheldt,  the  German  Ocean,  and  the  Somme,  a  territory  which 
the}'  had  conquered  under  their  king,  Clodion,  towards  the  middle 
of  the  fifth  century.  They  were  divided  into  three  tribes  or  small 
kingdoms,  the  principal  cities  of  which  were  Tournay,  Cambray 
and  Therouanne.  The  chiefs,  or  kings,  of  these  tribes  all  belonged 
to  the  royal  race  of  Clodion  and  his  son  IMerovius.  The  tribe  of 
Tournay  had  acquired  the  first  rank  and  predominant  influence 
under  King  Childeric.  A  portion  of  Gaul  between  the  Somme  and 
the  Loire  had  remained  Roman,  and  maintained  itself  for  some 
time  after  the  fall  of  the  empire,  independent  of  the  barbarians. 
It  was  governed  at  that  time  by  the  Roman  general  Syagrius.  son 
of  the  celebrated  yEgidius,  the  ex-master  of  the  imperial  militia. 
The  Anglo-Saxons  in  this  period,  having  invaded  Britain,  and 
established  themselves  in  that  island,  a  great  number  of  the  old 
inhabitants  emigrated  and  settled  at  the  extremity  of  the  western 
point  of  Armorica.  They  were  kindly  welcomed  by  the  natives, 
who  had  a  community  of  language  and  origin  with  them.  French 
Brittany  derives  its  name  from  these  expatriated  Britons.  About 
the  same  period  a  colony  of  Saxons,  expelled  from  Germany,  estab- 
lished themselves  in  lower  Normandy,  in  the  vicinity  of  Bayeux, 
while  another  colony  of  the  same  people,  hostile  to  the  Britons, 
occupied  a  part  of  ]\Iaine  and  Anjou. 

Such  was  the  state  of  Gaul  when  in  481  Clovis,  son  of  Chil- 
deric, and  grandson  of  Merovius,  \vho  gave  his  name  to  his  dynasty, 
was  elected  King  of  the  Salic  Franks  established  at  Tournay.  His 
advent  marks  a  new  period  in  the  history  of  Gaul.  Under  his  rule 
the  last  remnant  of  Roman  power  disappeared  and  the  different 
Germanic  tribes  were  rendered  subject  to  one  ruler. 

The  success  of  the  Franks  in  that  part  of  Gaul  which  had  re- 
mained subject  to  the  Romans  was  partly  due  to  the  state  of  oppres- 
sion into  w'hich  the  imperial  government  had  plunged  the  people. 
Other  causes  favored  their  rapid  progress  in  the  countries  occupied 
by  the  Visigoths  and  Burgundians.  These  were  attached  to  the 
Arian  heresy,  while  the  nations  they  had  conquered  were  maintained 
by  their  bishops  in  the  orthodox,  or  Catholic  faith.  The  bishops, 
bound  to  recognize  as  their  pattern  and  head  the  bishop  of  Rome, 
and  to  contribute  by  the  unity  of  religion  to  the  unity  of  the  empire, 


/.    N 


M  E  Pt  O  V  I  N  G  I  A  N     K  I  N  G  1)  O  JNI  S  19 

498-506 

still  labored,  .at  the  period  of  the  conquest,  to  retain  under  the 
authority  of  Rome,  by  the  bond  of  religious  faith,  countries  in 
which  the  bond  of  political  obedience  was  severed.  The  Visigoths 
and  Burgundians  did  not  recognize  the  authority  of  the  bishops, 
who  had  greater  hopes  of  a  nation  still  pagan  and  free  from  preju- 
dices, as  the  Franks  were  at  that  time,  than  of  tribes  who,  already 
converted  to  Christianity,  refused  to  acknowledge  their  creed  or  take 
them  as  guides.  Clovis,  elected  Chief  of  the  Franks,  soon  seconded 
the  wish  of  the  bishops  of  Gaul  by  espousing,  in  493,  Clotilda, 
daughter  of  Childeric,  King  of  the  Burgundians,  the  only  woman  of 
the  Germanic  race  who  at  that  period  belonged  to  the  Catholic  com- 
munion. This  event  influenced  in  the  most  profound  manner  the 
history  of  Frankish  Gaul. 

Soon  after  his  election  as  King  of  the  Franks,  Clovis  began  a 
series  of  campaigns  that  rendered  him  master  of  Gaul.  The  jfirst 
enemy  attacked  was  Syagrius,  the  Roman  general  and  governor  of 
that  part  of  Gaul  still  independent  of  the  barbarians,  whose  capital 
was  Soissons.  Syagrius  was  conquered  in  486,  and  the  Franks 
extended  their  limits  up  to  the  Seine.  Clovis  then  marched  against 
the  hordes  of  Alemanni,  who  were  invading  Gaul,  and  a  battle  took 
place  in  496  at  Tolbiac.  Hard  pressed  in  the  early  part  of  the 
day,  he  promised  to  adore  the  God  of  Clotilda  if  he  gained  the  vic- 
tory: he  triumphed  and  kept  his  vow.  Several  thousand  Frank 
warriors  imitated  their  chief  and  were  baptized  on  the  same  day. 
It  was  thus  that  the  Catholic  Church  gained  access  to  tlic  barbarians. 
Clovis  at  once  sent  presents  to  Rome,  as  a  symbol  of  tribute,  to  tlie 
successor  of  the  blessed  apostle  Peter,  and  from  this  moment  his 
conquests  extended  over  Gaul  without  bloodshed.  In  his  future 
struggles  against  Arian,  Goth,  and  Burgundian,  Clovis  was  sup- 
ported by  the  orthodox  population  and  the  orthodox  bishops  of 
Gaul.  All  the  cities  in  the  northwest  as  far  as  the  Loire,  and  the 
territory  of  the  Breton  emigres,  opened  their  gates  to  his  soldiers. 
Tlie  Burgundian  bishops  supplicated  him  to  deliver  them  from  tlic 
rule  of  the  Arian  barbarians,  and  in  500  Clovis  declared  vvar  against 
the  Burgundian  King  Gondebaud,  made  him  his  tributary  and  a 
convert  to  Catholicism. 

Six  years  later  Clovis  turned  liis  attention  to  the  fair  southern 
provinces  occupied  by  the  Visigotlis.  He  negotiated  with  tlie 
Catholic  bishops  of  these  provinces  and  offered  himself  to  the  Calli- 
olic  population  of  the  country  as  a  liberator  and  avenger.      Then, 


20  FRANCE 

506-509 

marching  southward,  he  terrified  Alaric  II.  by  the  rapidity  of  his 
progress.  This  prince  called  to  his  aid  his  father-in-law,  Theodoric, 
King  of  the  Ostrogoths,  who  at  that  time  was  governing  Italy  with 
glory,  but  not  daring,  before  the  junction  of  their  armies,  to  engage 
in  a  decisive  action  with  the  Franks,  retreated  before  them,  Clovis, 
however,  pushing  on,  defeated  Alaric's  army  in  507,  near  Vougle, 
three  leagues  to  the  south  of  Poictiers.  Alaric  lost  his  life  in  the 
engagement.  Before  long  the  greater  portion  of  the  country  occu- 
pied by  the  Visigoths,  as  far  as  the  sources  of  the  Garonne,  obeyed 
Clovis.  Carcassonne  checked  his  victorious  army.  A  portion  of 
his  forces,  under  the  command  of  his  elder  son,  Theodoric,  marched 
into  Auvergne,  in  concert  with  the  army  of  the  King  of  the  Burgun- 
dians,  and  the  combined  armies  subjugated  the  whole  country  as 
far  as  Aries,  the  capital  of  the  Visigothic  empire,  to  which  they  laid 
siege.  In  the  meanwhile  the  Ostrogoths  were  approaching,  and  the 
Franks  and  Burgundians,  retiring  before  them,  raised  the  siege  of 
Aries  and  Carcassonne.  Peace  was  finally  concluded,  after  a  battle 
gained  by  the  Ostrogoths.  A  treaty  insured  the  possession 
of  Aquitaine  and  Gascony  to  Clovis.  Theodoric,  as  the  price  of  his 
services,  claimed  the  province  of  Aries  up  to  the  Durance,  the  Bur- 
gundians kept  the  cities  to  the  north  of  that  city,  with  the  exception 
of  Avignon,  and  the  monarchy  of  the  Visigoths  was  reduced  to 
Spain  and  Septimania,  of  which  Narbonne  was  the  capital.  The 
Franks,  thus  checked  in  the  south  by  the  Ostrogoths,  marched 
westward  into  the  country  of  the  Armoricans,  who  submitted  and 
consented  to  pay  tribute.  The  Breton  settlers  alone  defended  tlie 
neck  of  land  in  which  they  had  taken  refuge  and  managed  to  retain 
their  independence. 

On  his  return  from  his  expedition  into  Aquitaine  Clovis  fixed 
his  residence  at  Paris.  His  attention  was  then  turned  to  the  north 
of  Gaul,  which  was  divided  between  the  kingdom  of  the  Ripuarian 
Franks,  extending  along  the  two  banks  of  the  Rhine,  and  the  king- 
dom of  the  Salian  Franks,  enclosed  between  the  Scheldt,  the  Somme 
and  the  sea.  Clovis  held  under  his  authority  two-thirds  of  Gaul, 
but  was  still  unrecognized  by  the  tribes  of  his  own  nation,  with  the 
exception  of  the  Salic  tribe  of  Tournay,  at  the  head  of  which  he 
had  gained  all  his  victories.  Tournay,  where  he  had  alone  suc- 
ceeded in  propagating  Christianity,  had  become  an  episcopal  see. 
The  Salic  Franks  of  the  two  other  kingdoms,  Cambray  and  Thcrou- 
anne,  and  the  Ripuarian  Franks  had  remained  attached  to  pagan- 


MEROVINGIAN     KINGDOMS  21 

509-511 

ism.  Clovis  resolved  to  subjugate  them.  Religion  had  neither 
repressed  his  ambition  nor  softened  his  ferocity,  and  he  employed 
cunning  and  violence  to  attain  success.  He  incited  Cloderic,  son 
of  his  ally,  Sigibcrt,  King  of  the  Ripuarians,  to  assassinate  his 
father  and  proclaim  himself  king.  Clovis,  however,  constituting 
himself  avenger  of  the  murder  he  had  provoked,  procured  the  as- 
sassination of  Cloderic,  and,  hastening  to  Cologne,  declared  that  the 
murders  of  Sigibert  and  Cloderic  would  expose  the  Ripuarians  to 
great  evils,  unless  they  accepted  his  protection  and  placed  themselves 
under  his  laws.  His  words  were  listened  to,  and  the  Ripuarians 
proclaimed  him  their  king.  He  thereupon  marched  against  the 
Salic  tribes  of  Courtray  and  Therouanne,  whose  chiefs,  Chararic  and 
Ragnachar,  had  maintained  their  independence,  and  subjugated 
them,  rather  by  the  aid  of  treachery  than  by  the  force  of  arms. 
Having  obtained  possession  of  the  persons  of  Ragnachar  and  his 
brother  Rignomere,  he  slew  them  with  his  own  hand,  and  soon  after 
caused  Chararic  and  his  two  sons  to  be  massacred  in  the  city  of 
Mans.     Thus  he  became  sole  King  of  the  Franks. 

Among  the  later  events  of  his  reign  was  the  meeting  of  a  gen- 
eral council  at  Orleans,  of  the  bishops  of  the  provinces  over  which 
his  authority  extended.  In  this  he  confirmed  the  gift  of  immense 
dominions  to  the  church,  and  gave  great  privileges  to  the  clergy,  the 
bishops  in  their  turn  making  numerous  concessions  which  would 
serve  to  strengthen  the  power  of  the  king.  After  the  closing  of 
the  council  of  Orleans  Clovis,  on  returning  to  Paris,  busied  himself 
with  the  propagation  of  Christianity  among  the  Prankish  tribes 
which  he  had  recently  subjected  in  northern  Gaul.  It  is  supposed 
that  the  same  period  should  be  assigned  to  the  Latin  edition  which 
he  issued  of  the  Salic  Law,  or,  more  correctly,  of  the  customs  of  the 
Salian  Pranks,  while  modifying  them  so  as  to  render  them  more  in 
harmony  with  the  new  situation  which  he  had  made  for  his  people 
in  Gaul.  The  work  of  Clovis  was  now  accomplished,  and  in  the 
course  of  the  same  year,  51 1,  he  died  at  Paris,  after  bestowing  fresh 
largesses  on  the  clergy,  and  dividing  his  states  among  his  four  sons, 
Theodoric,  Clodomir,  Childebert,  and  Lothaire,  who  were  all  recog- 
nized as  kings.     Clovis  thus  destroyed  the  state  that  he  had  created. 

Before  continuing  the  history  of  the  Franks  under  the  race  of 
Clovis,  it  will  be  advisable  to  take  a  glance  at  their  religion,  laws, 
and  customs,  and  to  explain  the  relations  of  the  conquerors  to  the 
conquered.      Royalty  among  the  Franks  was  at  once  elective  and 


22  FRANCE 

511 

hereditary:  the  title  of  king,  in  the  German  language  (konig) 
merely  signified  chief,  and  was  decreed  by  election.  On  tlie  death 
of  a  king  the  Franks  assembled  for  the  purpose  of  choosing  his 
successor.  We  have  seen  that  they  chose  him  from  one  family,  that 
of  Merovius,  and  that,  when  they  had  nominated  him,  they  conse- 
crated him  by  raising  him  on  a  buckler  amid  noisy  shouts.  The 
chief  mission  of  the  ruler  they  gave  themselves  was  to  lead  them 
against  the  foe  and  to  pillage.  He  received  the  largest  share  of 
the  booty,  frequently  consisting  of  towns  with  their  territory.  This 
constituted  the  royal  domain  and  the  treasure  with  which  the  king 
recompensed  his  antrustions  or  leudes.  the  name  given  to  the  com- 
rades in  arms  of  the  prince  who  devoted  themselves  to  his  fortunes 
and  swore  fidelity  to  him.  These  leudes  formed  a  separate  class, 
from  which  the  majority  of  the  officers  and  magistrates  were  selected. 
When  a  king  died  his  sons  inherited  his  domain,  and,  being  richer 
than  their  companions  in  arms,  were  in  a  netter  position  than  other 
persons  to  secure  suffrages.  It  was  thus  that  the  supreme  authority 
was  handed  down  from  father  to  son  in  the  race  of  Clovis,  at  first 
by  election,  and  then  by  usage,  which  in  time  became  law.  The 
sons  of  Clovis,  having  all  been  recognized  as  kings,  each  took  up  his 
abode  in  the  chief  city  of  his  dominions,  so  that  there  were  from 
this  time  four  capitals — Paris,  Orleans,  Soissons  and  Rheims.  All 
these  capitals,  residences  of  kings,  were  chosen  to  the  north  of  the 
Loire,  in  a  rather  limited  space,  because  the  countries  in  wliich  they 
were  situated  were  alone  considered  the  land  of  the  Franks.  The 
provinces  to  the  south  of  the  Loire  were  still  filled  with  reminis- 
cences of  the  Romans.  The  great  cities,  far  richer  and  more  popu- 
lous than  those  of  the  north,  and  brilliant  with  the  relics  of  im- 
perial grandeur,  struck  the  barbarous  Franks  with  a  stupid  aston- 
ishment. They  found  themselves  uncomfortable  amid  the  ruins 
of  the  civilized  world,  and  hence  they  sojourned  there  only  with 
repugnance. 

The  authority  of  the  kings  was  purely  military.  The  legisla- 
tive power  belonged  to  the  entire  nation  of  the  Franks,  who  assem- 
bled in  arms  in  the  month  of  March  or  May,  whence  these  malls, 
or  national  comitia,  have  been  entitled  "  the  assemblies  of  the  field 
of  March  "  and  "  the  field  of  May."  They  took  place  regularly 
every  year  in  the  early  period  of  the  conquest,  but  when  the  Franks, 
after  becoming  landowners,  were  scattered  over  Gaul,  they  neglected 
to  assemble,  the  kings  ceased  to  convoke  them  regularly,  and  the 


MEROVINGIAN     KINGDOMS  23 

511 

legislative  power  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  monarchs,  their  offi- 
cers, and  the  bishops.  Each  city  was  administered  by  its  own 
municipality,  under  the  direction  of  the  bishop  elected  by  the  people 
and  the  clergy  of  his  diocese.  Justice  emanated  from  the  people. 
All  the  freemen  in  each  district,  designated  by  the  name  of  armans  or 
rachimbourgs,  had  the  right  of  being  present  at  the  courts,  where 
they  performed  the  duties  of  judges,  under  the  presidency  of  the 
royal  officers,  or  centurions.  No  subordination  existed  between  the 
several  courts  and  no  appeal  was  admitted.  Each  of  the  tribes  that 
occupied  the  soil  of  Gaul  retained  its  own  laws.  The  Gallo-Romans 
continued  to  be  governed,  in  their  civil  relations,  by  the  Theodosian 
code,  a  collection  of  Roman  laws  drawn  up  by  order  of  Theodosius 
II.,  and  promulgated  in  438.  The  Salian  and  Ripuarian  Franks 
and  the  Burgundians  each  had  a  special  code.  The  law  which  the 
Salian  Franks  obeyed,  and  which  obtained  from  them  the  name  of 
the  Salic  Law,  was  not  drawn  up  till  after  the  conquest,  but  it  was 
based  on  maxims  existing  long  anterior  to  the  invasion  of  Gaul  by 
the  Franks.  This  law,  moreover,  established  offensi\e  distinctions 
between  the  races  of  the  Franks  and  the  Gallo-Romans.  The  repa- 
ration for  the  heaviest  crimes  was  estimated  in  money.  In  this 
species  of  composition  the  law  always  valued  the  life  of  a  Frank  at 
double  that  of  a  Roman.  Churchmen,  however,  were  respected, 
and  enjoyed  many  privileges.  Under  the  sons  of  Clovis  the  penal 
laws  became  more  severe,  and  the  penalty  of  death  was  substituted 
in  certain  cases  for  fines.  The  law  of  the  Ripuarian  Franks,  ])ro- 
mulgated  by  Theodoric  I.,  estal)Hshed  compensation  for  offenses  on 
principles  similar  to  those  of  the  Salic  Law.  The  law  of  the  Bur- 
gundians, called  the  loi  Gomhcttc,  after  Gundobad,  its  author,  was 
more  favorable  to  the  old  inhabitants  than  the  laws  of  the  Salic 
and  Ripuarian  Franks,  and  admitted  of  no  distinction  between  the 
Romans  and  the  conquerors  for  crimes  committed  against  persons. 
In  Gaul,  after  the  conquest,  a  distinction  was  made  between  the 
freemen  as  possessors  of  independent  estates  or  owners  of  benefices, 
the  colonists,  and  the  slaves  or  serfs.  The  first  among  the  freemen, 
whether  Franks  or  Gallo-Romaris,  were  the  leudes,  or  companions 
of  the  kings,  and  possessors  of  the  royal  favor;  after  the  freemen, 
or  owners  of  the  soil,  came  the  farmers,  who  cultivated  it  in  consid- 
eration of  rent  or  tribute,  and,  lastly,  the  serfs,  some  of  whom  were 
attached  to  the  person  of  the  master,  and  others  to  the  soil,  with 
which  they  were  sold  like  cattle.      The  clergy  formed  a  separate 


24  FRANCE 

511-532 

and  very  powerful  class.  All  the  public  offices  which,  to  be  properly 
filled,  required  learning  and  knowledge,  were  given  to  the  church- 
men, owing  to  their  superior  instruction.  In  this  way  they  found 
means  to  increase  the  wealth  which  they  derived  from  the  liberality 
and  piety  of  the  faithful.  The  territorial  estates  were  divided, 
among  the  barbarians,  into  two  chief  classes,  allodia  and  benefices, 
or  fiefs.  The  allodia  were  estates  free  from  any  charge,  and  be- 
longing entirely  either  to  the  conquerors  or  the  conquered.  The 
benefices  were  lands  which  the  kings  detached  from  the  royal  do- 
main in  order  to  reward  their  leudes.  The  possession  of  benefices 
entailed  the  obligation  of  military  service,  and,  at  first,  being  only 
held  for  life,  they  could  be  recalled.  The  offices  of  duke  and  count, 
possessed  by  the  first  lords,  were  not  transmissible  by  right  of  in- 
heritance to  their  children.  But  after  a  time  the  bravest  warriors, 
enriched  by  the  royal  favor,  formed  a  dangerous  aristocracy.  They 
became  more  powerful  in  proportion  as  the  royal  au^ority  grew 
weaker,  and,  their  claims  having  increased  with  their  power,  they 
rendered  their  domains  and  titles  hereditary  in  their  families.  This 
usurpation  on  the  part  of  the  nobles  was  one  of  the  principal  causes 
of  the  downfall  of  the  Merovingian  dynasty. 

Devastating  wars  and  frightful  crimes  marked  the  reigns  of 
nearly  all  the  descendants  of  Clovis.  The  sons  of  that  prince  divided 
his  estates  among  themselves  with  barbarous  ignorance,  and  this 
clumsy  division  was  the  source  of  bloody  quarrels.  Theodoric  re- 
sided at  Metz,  the  capital  of  the  eastern  Franks;  Lothaire  at  Sois- 
sons,  Childebert  at  Paris,  and  Clodomir  at  Orleans.  The  last  three 
also  shared  among  them  the  lands  and  cities  conquered  in  Aquitainc. 
The  first  notable  act  of  the  new  kings  was  the  subjugation  of  the 
Thuringians,  who  had  established  a  new  monarchy  on  the  banks  of 
the  Elbe  and  the  Neckar.  Theodoric  and  Lothaire  defeated  them  in 
two  battles,  assassinated  the  Thuringian  prince,  put  a  part  of  the 
nation  to  the  sword,  and  attached  Thuringia  to  tlie  territory  of  the 
Franks.  Sigismund,  son  of  Gondebaud,  who  forty  years  previously 
assassinated  Chilperic,  the  father  of  Queen  Clotilda,  was  reigning 
at  this  time  in  Burgundy.  The  widow  of  Clovis  made  her  sons 
promise  to  avenge  the  death  of  Chilperic,  their  grandfather.  Clodo- 
mir and  Lothaire  entered  Burgundy,  won  a  battle,  and  made  King 
Sigismund  a  prisoner,  and  put  him  to  death.  Gondemar,  brother  of 
the  conquered  king,  defeated  and  killed  Clodomir,  expelled  the 
Franks,  and  was   recognized   as   king  by  the   Burgundians,   over 


MEROVINGIAN     KINGDOMS  25 

532-547 

whom  he  reigned  till  the  year  532.  Lothaire  and  his  brother  Childc- 
bert  then  conquered  him  and  took  possession  of  the  kingdom.  These 
two  princes  sullied  their  character  by  a  frightful  crime  after  the 
death  of  their  brother  Clodomir,  king  of  Orleans,  who  had  left 
three  children  of  tender  age.  Lothaire  and  Childebert  coveted  the 
inheritance  of  their  nephews,  and  the  former  murdered  two  of  them 
with  his  own  hands.  Clodoald,  the  third  son  of  Clodomir,  escaped 
from  the  fury  of  his  uncles,  became  a  monk,  and  founded  the  mon- 
astery of  St.  Clodoald,  or  St.  Cloud,  Theodoric  I.,  the  eldest  of 
the  sons  of  Clovis,  died  in  534,  after  ravaging  Auvergne,  which  had 
tried  to  shake  off  his  yoke.     His  son,  Theodebert,  succeeded  him. 

The  empire  of  the  Goths  was  at  this  period  beginning  to  de- 
cline. Theodoric  was  dead.  He  left  his  two  grandsons,  Athalaric 
and  Amalaric,  between  whom  he  divided  his  empire.  Athalaric  had 
the  kingdom  of  the  Ostrogoths  in  Italy,  with  the  provinces  of  Gaul 
up  to  the  Rhone  and  the  Durance;  Amalaric,  the  son  of  Alaric  II., 
reigned  over  the  Visigoths  in  Spain  and  Gaul,  from  the  base  of  the 
Pyrenees  as  far  as  the  Lot  and  the  Rhone.  This  prince  resided  at 
Narbonne,  and  espoused  Clotilda,  daughter  of  Clovis.  Clotilda 
was  a  Catholic  among  an  Arian  people.  Outraged  by  tlie  populace, 
treated  still  more  cruelly  by  her  husband,  she  appealed  to  her  broth- 
ers for  protection.  Childebert  led  an  army  of  Franks  to  the  fron- 
tier of  Septimania,  where  he  defeated  the  Visigoths.  Amalaric  lied 
to  Barcelona,  and  perished  there  by  assassination.  Childebert  gave 
up  Narbonne  to  pillage,  and  then  returned  to  Paris,  loaded  with  the 
spoils  of  the  rich  province;  but  as  he  neglected  to  secure  the  pos- 
session, it  reverted  to  the  Visigoths.  The  Ostrogoths,  after  the 
death  of  Athalaric  and  his  successor,  Theodatus,  had  selected  as 
their  ruler  Vitiges,  the  most  skillful  of  their  generals.  They  were 
at  that  time  engaged  in  a  war  with  Justinian,  the  Emperor  of  the 
East,  who  asked  the  support  of  the  Prankish  king,  Theodebert  I., 
son  of  Theodoric  I.,  against  the  Ostrogoths.  Theodebert,  equally 
appealed  to  by  the  latter  to  help  them  against  Justinian,  passed  the 
iVlps  at  the  head  of  a  numerous  army  and  received  gold  from  both 
sides.  Then,  breaking  his  engagements,  he  assailed  both  armies, 
ravaged  Lombardy  with  fire  and  sword,  and  snatched  Provence 
from  the  Ostrogoths. 

Theodebert  was  meditating  an  invasion  of  the  empire  of  the 
east,  when  he  died  in  547,  leaving  the  throne  to  his  son  Theodebald, 
who  reigned  only  seven  years.     On  the  death  of  the  latter.  Lothaire, 


26  FRANCE 

547-567 

his  great-uncle,  seized  his  kingdom.  His  other  grand-uncle,  Childe- 
bert,  jealous  of  this  usurpation,  set  up  against  Lothaire  his  son 
Chramme,  and  at  first  supported  him  with  his  army,  but  himself 
soon  fell  ill  at  Paris  and  died.  Lothaire  inherited  his  kingdom, 
pursued  his  own  rebellious  son,  and  had  him  burned  alive,  with  his 
wife  and  daughters.  He  had  now  succeeded  his  three  elder  broth- 
ers, and  held  under  his  sway  the  whole  of  Roman  Gaul,  in  which 
were  comprised  Savoy,  Switzerland,  the  Rhenish  provinces,  and 
Belgium.  Septimania  alone  remained  to  the  Visigoths.  Lothaire's 
authority  extended  beyond  the  Rhine,  over  the  duchies  of  Germany, 
Thuringia,  and  Bavaria,  and  the  countries  of  the  Saxons  and  the 
Frisians.  He  made  no  use  of  this  power,  and  the  only  memorial 
that  remained  of  the  two  years  during  which  he  governed  alone 
the  monarchy  of  the  Franks  was  the  murder  of  his  son.  Lothaire 
was  taken  ill  in  561,  a  year  after  this  horrible  execution,  and, 
amazed  at  the  approach  of  death,  is  reported  to  have  said :  "  Who 
is  this  King  of  Heaven  who  thus  kills  the  great  kings  of  the  earth?  " 
Lothaire  L  left  four  sons — Caribert,  Gunthram,  Chilperic,  and 
Sigibert — who  divided  his  states  among  them.  Caribert  lived  but 
a  short  while,  and  left  no  male  child.  From  his  death  dates  a 
fresh  division  among  the  three  surviving  brothers.  The  country 
situated  between  the  Rhine  and  the  Loire  was  divided  in  two,  as  if 
a  diagonal  line  were  drawn  from  north  to  south,  from  the  mouths 
of  the  Scheldt  to  the  environs  of  Langres,  near  the  sources  of  the 
Saone.  The  part  situated  to  the  west  of  this  line  was  named 
Neustria  (Neuster:  west)  and  the  other  part,  to  the  east,  was 
named  Austrasia  (Ostro:  east).  Neustria  fell,  in  the  partition, 
to  Chilperic,  and  Austrasia  to  Sigibert.  Burgundy  formed  the 
third  great  division  of  Gaul,  and  was  the  share  of  Gunthram. 
Countries  afterwards  conquered  were  regarded  as  appendices  of 
the  Frankish  empire,  and  it  was  arranged  that  a  separate  division 
should  be  made  of  them.  These  were  Provence,  Aquitaine,  and 
Gascony.  The  first  was  attached  to  Austrasia  and  Burgundy  and 
was  divided  between  Sigibert  and  Gunthram ;  the  second  was  di- 
vided into  three  parts,  reputed  equal,  each  of  which  formed  a  small 
Aquitaine;  and,  lastly,  Gascony  was  divided  between  Cliilperic  and 
Sigibert,  to  the  exclusion  of  Gunthram.  The  German  provinces, 
governed  by  dukes  nominated  by  the  kings,  were  scarce  taken  into 
consideration  in  this  division.  They  were  allotted,  with  Austrasia, 
to  Sigibert.     The  three  brothers  made  a  strange  convention  with 


^lEROVINGIAN     KINGDOMS  27 

567.575 

regard  to  the  city  of  Paris:  owing  to  its  importance,  they  promised 
that  no  one  of  them  should  enter  it  without  the  consent  of  the 
others.  This  celebrated  division  of  the  inheritance  of  Lothaire  I. 
was  made  in  the  year  567,  and  from  this  moment  commenced  the 
long  and  bloody  rivalry  between  Neustria  and  Austrasia. 

Chilperic  and  Sigibert  distinguished  themselves  by  their  fratri- 
cidal hatred,  but  were  surpassed  in  audacity,  ambition,  and  bar- 
barity by  their  wives,  whose  names  acquired  a  great  and  melancholy 
celebrity.  Sigibert  had  married  Brunhilda,  daughter  of  the  King 
of  the  Visigoths.  Chilperic,  surnamed  the  Nero  of  France,  jealous 
of  the  alliance  contracted  by  his  brother,  put  aside  the  claims  of 
his  mistress,  Fredegonda,  in  order  to  espouse  Gaileswintha,  sister 
of  Brunhilda.  He  had,  at  this  period,  three  sons  by  his  first  wife, 
Andovera,  whom  he  repudiated  and  imprisoned  at  Rouen.  Shortly 
after  his  second  marriage  he  had  Gaileswintha  strangled,  at  the 
instigation  of  Fredegonda,  and  took  the  latter  for  his  wife.  Brun- 
hilda swore  to  avenge  her  sister. 

After  an  unsuccessful  war  against  his  brother  Sigibert,  tlie 
King  of  Neustria  submitted,  asked  for  peace  and  accepted  a  treaty, 
which  he  violated  almost  immediately  afterwards  by  taking  up  arms 
again.  Sigibert  marched  on  Paris,  wdiich  Chilperic  had  seized,  laid 
the  environs  of  the  city  waste,  took  it  by  storm,  and  forced  his 
brother  to  shut  himself  up  in  Tournay,  with  his  wife  and  children. 
The  Austrasian  army  invested  the  latter  town,  and  Sigibert  declared 
that  he  would  kill  Chilperic.  But  he,  wishing  first  to  have  himself 
elected  King  of  Neustria,  proceeded  to  Vitry,  wdiere  he  was  pro- 
claimed king,  but  in  the  midst  of  the  rejoicirigs  two  emissaries  of 
Fredegonda  stabbed  him  with  poisoned  knives.  He  died,  and  his 
army  dispersed.  Chilperic  regained  his  crown  and  entered  Paris 
as  a  victor. 

The  widow  of  the  assassinated  King  Sigibert,  Brunhilda,  was 
still  in  that  city  with  her  two  daughters  and  her  youthful  son 
Childebert.  By  order  of  Chilperic  she  was  arrested  and  kept  as  a 
prisoner  with  her  children,  but  young  Childebert  was  let  down  in 
a  basket  from  a  window  of  the  castle  and  carried  to  jNIetz,  where  he 
was  proclaimed  King  of  Austrasia  in  575,  as  Childebert  II.  King 
Chilperic  sent  Brunhilda  with  her  two  daughters  in  exile  to  Rouen. 
Here  she  was  joined  by  Mcrovius,  the  son  of  Chilperic  and  the 
unfortunate  Andovera,  whom  she  married  in  secret.  Chilperic, 
informed  of  the  marriage,  took  umbrage  at  it,  and  hastened  to 


28  FRANCE 

575-584 

Rouen,  where  he  separated  the  couple.  Brunhilda  regained  her 
hberty  and  fled  into  Austrasia,  but  Merovius  was  arrested  by  his 
father's  orders,  ordained  priest,  in  spite  of  his  protests  and  exiled  to 
the  monastery  of  vSt.  Calais,  near  Mans.  Escaping  from  his  guar- 
dians, he  tried  to  join  his  wife  in  Austrasia,  but  the  Austrasian 
leudes  drove  him  into  Neustria,  and  at  length,  when  just  on  the 
point  of  falling  into  the  hands  of  his  implacable  father,  he  com- 
mitted suicide. 

Chilperic,  after  his  reestablishment  on  the  throne,  set  no 
bounds  to  his  ambition  and  cupidity.  He  invaded  the  states  of  his 
brother  Gunthram  during  a  war  that  prince  was  waging  against  the 
Lombards,  but  Gunthram,  after  defeating  the  Lombards,  recaptured 
all  the  places  which  Chilperic  had  seized.  Six  years  later  a  new 
invasion  of  the  Neustrians  into  Burgundy  was  repulsed,  and  Chil- 
jjcric  perished  soon  after,  being  assassinated  in  the  forest  of  Chelles. 
Of  all  the  sons  he  had  by  Fredegonda,  only  one,  Lothaire,  survived 
him.  The  mother  undertook  the  guardianship  of  her  son.  and,  be- 
ing menaced  simultaneously  by  all  the  enemies  her  crimes  had 
aroused  against  her,  she  placed  herself,  with  her  child,  under  the 
protection  of  King  Gunthram. 

Brunhilda  was  at  this  period  disputing  the  guardianship  of  her 
young  son,  Childebert  IL,  with  the  nobles  of  Austrasia.  The 
Frankish  kings  had,  up  to  this  time,  been  accustomed  to  set  one 
of  their  leudes  over  the  officers  of  their  house,  as  steward  of  the 
royal  domains.  This  officer,  who  had  the  title  of  major  domo,  was 
at  a  later  date  called  ''  mayor  of  the  palace  of  the  kings,"  and  was 
merely  their  first  officer.  But  after  the  death  of  Sigibert  the  Aus- 
trasian nobles,  jealous  of  Brunhilda's  authority,  elected  one  of  their 
number  mayor  of  the  palace  and  added  to  his  functions  tliat  of  pre- 
siding over  them  and  watching  the  youthful  king.  Brunhilda  tried 
in  vain  to  oppose  the  haughty  aristocracy  who  claimed  a  share  in 
the  guardianship  of  her  son.  She  therefore  restrained  herself  till 
Childebert  was  of  the  age  to  govern  by  himself,  and  inspired  him 
with  a  profound  dissimulation.  It  was  not  alone  in  Austrasia  that 
a  reaction  was  visible  against  the  descendants  of  Merovius.  Royalty 
was  no  longer  in  Gaul  what  it  had  formerly  been  in  the  forests  of 
Germany.  The  descendants  of  Clovis  had  gradually  usurped  an 
arbitrary  and  despotic  authority  over  their  own  comrades  in  arms 
and  the  Frankish  aristocracy,  which  the  aristocracy,  grown  power- 
ful through  their  landed  estates,   struggled  to   resist.       Llitherto 


]\1ER0VINGIAN     KINGDOMS  29 

584 

floating,  they  had  become  fixed.  They  had  acquired  perpetuity  with 
property.  A  multitude  of  freemen  resorted  to  them  for  their  sup- 
port against  the  exactions  of  royal  officers,  and  this  patronage 
spread  in  spite  of  the  prohil)itions  of  the  kings.  The  church  itself, 
though  it  had  at  first  favored  the  progress  of  the  royal  authority, 
grew  weary  of  a  despotism  which  no  longer  respected  its  immunities 
and  privileges.  The  bishops  leagued  themselves  with  the  principal 
feudatories. 

A  formidable  conspiracy  was  thus  formed  against  the  kings 
of  Austrasia  and  Burgundy.  The  aristocracy  desired  a  ruler  who 
would  be  a  passive  instrument  in  their  hands,  and  turned  their  at- 
tention to  a  natural  and  unrecognized  son  of  Lothaire  I.,  Gondevald 
by  name,  who,  fearing  the  suspicious  jealousy  of  the  kings  his  broth- 
ers, had  sought  a  refuge  at  Constantinople,  at  the  court  of  the  Em- 
peror Maurice.  This  man  was  induced  by  some  of  the  feudatories 
of  Burgundy  and  Austrasia  to  assert  his  claim  to  a  share  of  the  do- 
minions of  Lothaire  I.,  his  father,  and,  on  his  arrival,  was  en- 
thusiastically received  in  the  south  of  Gaul.  The  insurrection 
spread  the  furthest  in  those  parts  of  Aquitaine  subjected  to  the 
kings  of  Neustria  and  Burgundy.  The  most  powerful  men  in  those 
countries  espoused  the  cause  of  Gondevald,  who  announced  him- 
self as  heir  of  Lothaire  L,  but  respected  the  claims  of  Childebert  11. 
in  Austrasian  Aquitaine.  Bordeaux,  Toulouse,  and  other  large 
towns  opened  their  gates  to  Gondevald,  and  the  larger  portion  of 
Gaul  to  the  south  of  the  Loire  was  gained  over  or  conquered.  Gun- 
thram,  terrified  by  the  progress  of  the  revolution,  invited  his  nephew 
Childebert  IL  to  join  him  against  Gondevald  and  drew  him  into 
the  alliance  by  adopting  him  as  his  heir. 

On  the  approach  of  the  formidable  armies  of  Burgundy  and 
Austrasia,  defections  commenced  in  Aquitaine,  and  Gondevald, 
abandoned  by  a  great  portion  of  the  Aquitanians,  was  compelled  to 
seek  a  refuge  in  the  town  of  Comminges.  After  enduring  a  brief 
siege  in  this  town,  which  nature  and  art  had  combined  to  render 
impregnable,  his  partisans,  seduced  by  the  gold  and  fair  promises 
of  Gunthram,  surrendered  him  to  the  besiegers,  who  put  him  to 
death.  But  this  treachery  was  of  no  advantage  to  the  traitors. 
The  Austrasio-Burgundian  army  penetrated  into  the  town,  and 
faithless  inhabitants,  priests,  and  soldiers  all  perished  by  the 
sword  or  by  fire. 

The  two  princes,  uncle  and  nephew,  then  formed  a  new  com- 


30  FRANCE 

534-612 

pact  in  a  solemn  assembly  held  at  Andelot.  The  common  interests 
of  the  kingdoms  of  Burgundy  and  Austrasia  were  regulated  there, 
and  the  survivor  of  the  two  kings  was  recognized  as  the  heir  of  the 
other.  After  this,  King  Childebert,  encouraged  by  his  successes  in 
Aquitaine,  by  the  support  of  Gunthram,  and  by  the  genius  of  his 
mother,  Brunhilda,  shook  off  the  yoke  of  his  leudes,  and  put  several 
of  them  to  death.  While  the  youthful  Childebert  was  signalizing 
his  reign  in  Austrasia  by  deeds  of  violence,  old  King  Gunthram 
was  terminating  his  in  Burgundy  by  reverses.  His  armies  were  de- 
feated in  Languedoc  by  the  Visigoths,  and  fell  back  in  Novempopu- 
lania  before  the  Gascons,  the  ferocious  mountaineers  of  the  Pyre- 
nees. The  old  king  died  in  593,  and  Childebert,  his  nephew  and 
adopted  son,  succeeded  him.  He  did  not  long  survive  his  uncle. 
After  attempting  an  invasion  of  Neustria  at  the  instigation  of  his 
mother,  Brunhilda,  in  which  he  was  unsuccessful,  he  died  in  596, 
leaving  two  sons  of  tender  age,  Theodebert  and  Theodoric. 

At  this  time  the  three  kingdoms  of  the  Franks  recognized  as 
kings  three  boys.  Lothaire  H.  reigned  in  Neustria,  Theodebert  H. 
in  Austrasia,  and  Theodoric  H.  in  Burgundy;  the  first  under  the 
guardianship  of  Fredegonda,  the  two  others  under  that  of  their 
grandmother,  Brunhilda.  The  implacable  hatred  of  these  two 
queens  rekindled  hostilities  and  in  a  great  battle  fought  near  Sens, 
by  Fredegonda  against  the  sons  of  Childebert,  the  Austrasians  and 
Burgundians  took  to  flight.  Fredegonda  entered  Paris  victoriously, 
reconstituted  the  old  kingdom  of  Neustrin  in  its  integrity  and  died, 
after  triumphing  over  all  her  enemies,  either  by  the  sword  or  by 
poison.  Excited  by  their  grandmother,  the  two  brothers,  Theode- 
bert and  Theodoric,  formed  an  alliance  against  Lothaire  H.  and  the 
united  Austrasian  and  Burgundian  armies  came  up  with  the  Neus- 
trians  at  Dormeille  in  the  country  of  Sens.  Lothaire  was  con- 
quered. 

Two  years  later  Brunhilda,  at  the  head  of  the  Burgun- 
dians, gained  another  victory  over  the  Neustrians  at  Etampes. 
Lothaire  had  all  but  fallen  into  her  hands,  when  she  learned  that 
Theodebert,  King  of  Austrasia,  had  treated  at  Compiegne  with  their 
common  enemy,  whom  he  had  it  in  his  power  to  crush.  This  peace 
saved  the  son  of  Fredegonda,  but  enraged  Brunhilda,  who  from  this 
moment  only  thought  of  punishing  Theodebert.  She  armed  The- 
odoric against  his  brother,  and  after  a  war  that  lasted  several  years, 
between  the  Burgundians  and  Austrasians,  the  two  armies  met  on 


]M  E  R  O  V  I  N  G  IAN     KIN  G  D  O  M  S  31 

612-628 

the  already  celebrated  plains  of  Tolbiac.  Theodebert  was  con- 
quered, and  fled,  but  fell  into  the  hands  of  his  brother,  who  put  his 
young  son  to  death  before  his  eyes,  while  Theodebert  himself  was 
murdered  by  the  orders  of  his  implacable  grandmother. 

Theodoric  died  suddenly  in  the  following  year,  leaving  four 
sons,  of  whom  Sigibert,  the  eldest,  was  scarce  eleven  years  of  age. 
Brunhilda  undertook  to  have  him  crowned  alone  and  to  maintain 
the  unity  of  his  father's  states  by  evading  the  custom  of  division. 
This  attempt  excited  a  rebellion,  and  the  nobles  summoned  to  their 
aid  Lothaire  XL,  King  of  Xeustria.  Lothaire  was  already  on  the 
Meuse,  and  marched  to  the  Rhine.  Brunhilda  proceeded  to  Worms 
with  her  great-grandsons  and  sought  support  from  the  Germans. 
A  portion  of  the  Austrasian  leudes  had  already  passed  over  into 
Lothaire's  camp :  the  others  flocked  round  their  king,  in  order  to 
betray  him  more  easily.  The  most  distinguished  of  the  conspirators 
were  two  powerful  Austrasian  lords,  whose  children  became,  by 
intermarriage,  the  founders  of  the  second  royal  dynasty  of  France. 
They  were  Arnulf,  afterwards  canonized  as  Bishop  of  ]\Ietz,  and 
Pippin,  of  Landen,  a  town  in  Hainault.  Both  Arnulf  and 
Pippin,  under  the  authority  of  the  celebrated  Warnachair,  mayor  of 
the  palace  in  Burgundy,  aided  the  success  of  the  famous  plot  whose 
object  was  the  overthrow  of  Queen  Brunhilda  and  her  race.  The 
combined  Austrasian  and  Burgundian  armies  met  the  Neustrians 
on  the  banks  of  the  Aisne  in  Champagne.  The  conspirators  then 
declared  themselves.  Lothaire  IT.  was  hailed  as  king  by  all  the 
Franks,  and  three  of  Theodoric's  sons  were  surrendered  to  him. 
Fie  had  the  young  King  Sigibert  murdered,  with  one  of  his  brothers, 
he  exiled  another  to  Xeustria,  but  tlic  fourth  escaped  him,  and  never 
reappeared.  Lastly,  the  haughty  Brunhilda  herself  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  son  of  Frcdegonda,  who  had  her  fastened  alive  to  the 
tail  of  a  wild  horse,  and  thus  dragged  to  death. 

After  the  death  of  Brunhilda  Lothaire  II.  united  under  his 
scepter  the  entire  Prankish  monarchy,  but  soon  discovered  that  the 
unity  of  his  vast  empire  was  only  apparent.  The  nobles  of  Aus- 
trasia,  in  overthrowing  Sigibert.  had  thought  much  less  about  rais- 
ing Lothaire  than  of  aggrandizing  themselves.  They  wanted  a 
prince  to  reside  among  them,  that  they  might  direct  him  as  they 
thought  proper;  and  they  forced  the  king  to  share  his  throne  with 
his  son  Dagobert,  and  give  them  the  latter  as  their  sovereign. 
Dagobert,  who  had  scarce  emerged  from  infancy,  reigned  under  the 


32  FRANCE 

614-633 

guardianship  of  Arnulf,  Bishop  of  Metz.  The  most  celebrated 
event  in  the  reign  of  Lothaire  11.  was  the  council,  or  synod,  of 
Paris  in  614.  The  famous  edict,  which  this  assembly  of  bishops  and 
nobles  promulgated,  forms  an  epoch  in  history,  for  it  marked  the 
success  of  the  reaction  of  the  latter  against  the  kings,  by  shaking  the 
system  of  arbitrary  government,  which  the  latter  had  tried  to 
found. 

One  of  the  chief  articles  settled  was  that  the  judges,  or  counts, 
should  always  be  selected  from  the  landowners  of  the  parts  where 
their  jurisdiction  would  be  exercised.  From  this  time  the  dignity 
of  count  belonged  nearly  always  to  the  richest  proprietor  in  each 
county,  and  the  royal  choice  had  narrow  limits.  But  little  more 
is  known  of  the  reign  of  Lothaire  II.  Wars  broke  out  between 
him  and  his  son  Dagobert,  whose  independence  he  was  compelled 
to  recognize,  and  his  life  was  ended  in  the  midst  of  civil  troubles. 
He  died  in  628,  before  he  had  been  able  to  secure  the  establishment 
of  his  second  son,  Caribert. 

The  rule  of  Dagobert  extended  over  the  three  kingdoms  of 
the  Frankish  monarchy — Neustria,  Austrasia,  and  Burgundy;  and 
from  these  he  detached  Ac[uitaine,  that  is  to  say,  the  territory  be- 
tween the  Loire,  the  Rhone,  and  the  Pyrenees,  and  gave  it  to  his 
brother  Caribert.  The  latter  soon  died,  and  his  eldest  son  was 
assassinated,  it  is  said,  by  a  faction  devoted  to  Dagobert,  who  re- 
sumed possession  of  his  brother's  states.  The  unity  of  the  Frankish 
monarchy  was  thus  once  again  restored. 

If  a  Merovingian  king  could  have  arrested  the  fall  of  his 
dynasty,  Dagobert  would  have  had  this  glory.  Not  one  of  the 
kings  descended  from  Clovis  caused  his  power  to  be  more  respected, 
or  displayed  greater  magnificence.  He  had  the  Salic  and  Ripuarian 
Laws  revised  and  written,  as  well  as  those  of  his  Alemannic  and 
Bavarian  vassals.  In  the  end,  however,  he  gave  way  to  debauchery 
and  cruelty.  He  forgot  the  claims  of  justice,  and  imposed  heavy 
tributes  on  his  people.  At  the  same  time  his  arms  were  not  suc- 
cessful. The  Venedis,  a  Slavonic  people,  had  established  them- 
selves in  the  valley  of  the  Danube,  the  great  commercial  route 
between  northern  Gaul  and  Constantinople  and  Asia,  where  they 
massacred  and  plundered  a  large  caravan  of  Franks.  Dagobert 
marched  against  them  to  take  vengeance  for  the  deed,  but  his  army 
was  defeated,  and  the  power  of  the  Franks  was  shaken  through  the 
whole  of  Germany. 


M  E  R  O  V  I  N  G  I  A  N     KINGDOMS  33 

633.-656 

Dagobert,  from  this  lime,  confined  his  attention  to  keeping  liis 
own  subjects  in  obedience.  The  Austrasians,  ever  ready  to  revoU, 
forced  him  to  share  his  throne  with  his  son  Sigibert,  three  years 
of  age,  and  give  liim  to  them  as  king,  while  another  son,  Clovis, 
was  recognized  as  King  of  Neustria  and  Burgundy.  In  the  last  year 
of  his  reign  Dagobert  repulsed  an  invasion  of  the  Gascons,  repressed 
a  revolt  in  Aquitaine,  and  made  a  treaty  with  the  Bretons,  who 
recognized  his  supremacy. 

In  spite  of  the  reverses  of  his  arms  against  the  Venedis,  and 
numerous  causes  of  internal  dissolution,  Dagobert,  who  died  in 
638,  remained  to  the  end  of  his  reign  powerful  and  feared.  He 
combined,  like  many  of  the  princes  of  his  race,  a  great  fervor  for 
religion  and  a  superstitious  devotion  wdth  licentious  tastes.  But 
despite  all  his  vices,  he  surpassed  in  merit  the  majority  of  the  princes 
of  his  family.  When  he  died,  a  century  and  a  half  had  elapsed 
since  the  elevation  of  Clovis  to  tlie  throne  of  the  Franks;  and  this 
period,  marked  by  so  much  devastation  and  so  many  crimes,  was  the 
most  memorable  during  the  reign  of  the  Merovingians, 

After  the  death  of  Dagobert  I.,  the  Merovingian  family  only 
offered  phantoms  of  kings,  l)rutalizcd  l)y  indolence  and  debauchery, 
whom  history  has  justly  branded  with  the  title  of  rois  faincantes. 
By  the  side  of  royalty  had  developed  the  power  of  the  mayors  of 
the  palace,  wdio  ultimately  took  advantage  of  the  w^eakness  of  the 
Merovingians  to  usurp  dc  facto  the  entire  authority.  Elected  by 
the  leudes,  they  had  for  a  long  period  been  supported  by  them  in 
governing  the  sovereigns ;  but  when  their  power  was  thoroughly 
established  they  crushed  the  nobles,  in  order  that  there  might  be 
henceforth  no  other  authority  than  their  own.  They  then  trans- 
mitted their  office  to  their  sons,  and  it  was  eventually  regarded  as 
the  appanage  of  a  family,  in  tlie  same  way  as  the  scepter  seemed  to 
belong  by  right  to  the  race  of  Clovis.  On  the  death  of  Dagol^ert, 
Aega  was  recognized  as  mayor  in  Neustria,  and  Pippin  of  Landen 
in  Austrasia. 

To  them  w^as  confided  the  guardianship  of  the  two  sons  of 
Dagobert,  the  monk-like  Sigibert  II.,  and  the  debauchee,  Clovis 
II.,  between  whom  his  states  were  divided.  These,  in  their 
turn,  were  succeeded  in  office  by  their  sons — Aega  by  Erkinoald 
and  Pippin  by  Grimoald.  On  the  death  of  Sigibert  II.,  Grimoald 
had  tried  to  get  the  scepter  into  his  family.  He  had  the  youtliful 
Dagobert,  son  of  Sigibert,  conveyed  to  Ireland,  concealed  the  place 


34  FRANCE 

656-678 

of  his  retreat,  and  dared  to  place  the  crown  on  the  head  of  his  own 
son.  But  the  Aiistrasian  nobles  revolted  against  an  authority  which 
was  independent  of  their  choice,  put  Grimoald  and  his  son  to 
death,  and  recognized  as  their  master  tlie  weak  Clovis  II.,  King  of 
Neustria.  This  king  passed  cjuickly  over  the  scene,  leaving  his 
scepter  and  empty  royal  title  to  Lothaire  III.,  his  elder  son,  who 
assumed  sovereignty  over  the  whole  of  his  father's  possessions. 

The  famous  Ebroin  v;as  at  that  time  mayor  of  the  palace  in 
Neustria,  but  he  did  not  succeed  in  long  maintaining  the  apparent 
unity  of  the  monarchy.  The  Austrasian  lords  desired  a  king  who, 
like  his  predecessors,  should  be  subject  to  their  influence.  They 
summoned  the  youthful  Childeric,  second  son  of  Clovis  II.,  greeted 
him  as  King  of  Austrasia,  and  gave  him  for  guardian  the  mayor, 
Wulfoald.  The  despotism  of  Ebroin  soon  drove  the  nobles  of 
Neustria  and  Burgundy  into  revolt  under  Leger,  the  Bishop  of 
Autun.  The  able  mayor  of  the  palace  at  first  subdued  the  rebellion, 
but  the  death  of  Lothaire  III.  shook  his  power.  He  did  not  dare 
convene  the  nobles,  according  to  custom,  in  order  to  elect  a  suc- 
cessor to  this  prince,  who  died  childless,  but  he  proclaimed  as  king, 
of  his  owm  authority,  the  youthful  Theodoric,  third  son  of  Clovis 
II.  The  lords  of  Neustria  and  Burgundy  were  no  more  willing 
than  those  of  Austrasia  to  see  the  mayors  usurp  the  right  of  election 
to  the  throne,  and  they  ofTered  the  crown  of  the  two  kingdoms  to 
Childeric  II.,  King  of  Austrasia.  Ebroin,  abandoned  by  all,  was 
forced  to  take  the  tonsure,  and  was  imprisoned  in  the  monastery  of 
Luxeuil.  Theodoric  III.  was  led  as  a  prisoner  into  his  brother's 
presence,  and  confined  by  his  orders  at  St.  Denis.  Childeric  II. 
removed  his  residence  from  Metz  to  Paris.  This  prince  combined 
with  the  brutal  passions  of  his  degenerate  race  the  energetic  char- 
acter of  his  ancestors.  The  nobles,  most  of  whom  he  contrived  to 
offend,  formed  a  conspiracy  against  him,  for  inflicting  on  one  of 
their  order  a  dishonorable  punishment  reserved  for  slaves.  The 
conspirators  surprised  the  king,  while  hunting  in  the  forest  of 
Bondy,  near  the  royal  mansion  of  Chelles,  and  murdered  him,  with 
his  wife  and  children.  Ebroin  came  out  of  captivity,  defended  the 
weak  Theoderic,  and  exercised  for  a  long  time  an  uncontrolled 
power.  A  formidable  opposition,  however,  was  organized  against 
Ebroin  in  Austrasia.  After  the  death  of  Childeric  II.,  Dagobert, 
son  of  Sigibcrt  II.,  was  recalled  from  Ireland  and  placed  on 
the  throne.     Imitating  the  last  king,   Childeric,   in  his  treatment 


MEROVINGIAN     K  I  N  G  D  0  M  S  35 

678-714 

of  the  nobles,  he  was  assassinated,  and  died  widiont  Icavinc^ 
an  heir. 

Among  the  murderers  of  Dag-ol:)ert  were  several  partisans  and 
relatives  of  the  old  mayor,  Pippin  of  Landen,  whose  grandson,  the 
son  of  his  daughter  Legga,  afterwards  known  in  history  as  Pippin 
of  Pleristal,  was  recognized,  during  the  interregnum  which  followed 
the  death  of  Dagobert,  as  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  aristocracy  of  the 
dukes  and  counts  of  Austrasia.  The  nobles  triumphed  in  that  coun- 
try, and  were  crushed  in  Neustria  and  Burgundy.  A  multitude  of 
exiles  from  these  two  kingdoms  demanded  vengeance  of  the  dukes 
of  Austrasia  upon  Ebroin,  and  a  fresh  collision  tof;k  place.  Neus- 
tria was  victorious,  but  Ebroin  was  unable  to  reap  the  fruit  of  his 
victory.  A  lord,  Ermanfroi  by  name,  who  had  been  proved  culpable 
in  office  and  threatened  with  death,  anticipated  Ebroin,  bv  cleaving 
his  skull  with  an  ax,  and  fled  to  Austrasia,  where  Pippin  of  Hcristal 
loaded  him  with  honors.  Ebroin,  without  scepter  or  crown,  had 
reigned  for  twenty  years,  with  a  power  that  no  king  had  exercised 
before  him. 

The  feeble  Theodoric  was  still  reigning  in  Neustria,  when  tlie 
mayor,  Waratho,  and  after  him  Berthair,  succeeded  l^^broin  in  his 
important  office.  The  reins  of  government,  on  slipping  from  his 
powerful  grasp,  were  relaxed  in  their  feeble  hands.  Civil  discord 
agitated  Neustria ;  hope  was  re-aroused  in  the  banished  lords.  They 
renewed  their  applications  to  Pippin  of  Hcristal,  who  announced 
himself  the  avenger  of  the  Prankish  nobles  and  jiriests  despoiled  bv 
the  mayors  of  Neustria,  and  was  proclaimed  commander-in-chief. 
He  encountered  the  Ncustrian  army  at  Tcstry,  in  the  county  of 
Vermandois,  in  687,  gained  a  great  victory,  and  made  prisoner 
King  Theodoric.  Pie  recognized  him  as  mon.arch  of  Neustria  and 
Austrasia,  governing  in  his  name  as  mayor  of  the  palace,  after  de- 
stroying the  rulers  of  the  party  opposed  to  the  nobles.  After  the 
death  of  Theoderic,  Pippin  crowned  in  succession  his  two  sons, 
Clovis  III.  and  Childebert  HI.,  and  then  his  grandson,  Dagobert 
IIP,  but  he  was  the  real  military  chief  and  sole  grand  judge  of  the 
nation  of  the  Franks. 

The  empire  of  the  Prank's  l)cgan  to  break  up  after  the  battle 
of  Testry.  The  Saxons,  Parisians,  .Mcmannians,  Bavarians,  and 
Thuringians.  hitherto  vassals  of  the  Merovingian  kings,  c<')nsidered 
themselves  the  ec|uals  of  Pi])]iin  when  they  had  contributed  to  his 
victory.     Pippin  contended  against  them,  and,  almost  to  his  death. 


36  FRANCE 

714-719 

had  to  sustain  long  and  arduous  wars  on  all  the  northern  frontiers, 
while  Burgundy  and  Provence  shook  off  his  3^oke  in  the  south.  The 
men  of  Aquitaine  rallied  under  the  celebrated  Eudes,  Duke  of  Tou- 
louse, and  descendant  of  the  Merovingian  Caribert,  brother  of  Dag- 
obert  I.,  to  whom  they  gave  the  title  of  king,  and  rendered  them- 
selves almost  independent  of  the  Prankish  monarchy. 

Pippin  had  two  sons,  Drogo  and  Grimoald,  by  his  wife  Plcc- 
trude,  and  a  third,  of  the  name  of  Charles,  by  his  concubine  Alpaiva. 
Drogo  died  in  708,  so  Pippin  invested  his  second  son,  Grimoald, 
with  the  office  of  mayor  of  Neustria,  An  implacable  hatred  sub- 
sisted between  the  mothers  of  Charles  and  Grimoald,  who  became 
deadly  foes,  Grimoald  was  murdered  when  Pippin  lay  dying,  lie 
sprang  from  his  death-bed,  destroyed  all  the  authors  of  the  murder, 
shut  up  his  son  Charles,  whom  he  suspected  of  being  an  accomplice, 
in  Cologne,  and  established  Grimoald's  son  Theodebald,  who  was 
hardly  five  years  of  age,  as  mayor  of  the  palace.  This  energetic 
act  exhausted  his  strength.  "He  died  in  714,"  the  annals  of  the 
Franks  tells  us,  "  after  commanding  for  twenty-seven  years  and  six 
months  the  whole  Prankish  people,  with  the  kings  subject  to  him — 
Theodoric,  Clovis,  Childebert,  and  Dagobert." 

Pippin  left  at  the  head  of  the  monarchy  two  boys — one  king, 
the  other  mayor — under  the  guardianship  of  the  aged  queen  Plec- 
trude,  the  grandmother  of  Theodebald.  The  Neustrians  revolted 
against  Plectrude  and  her  grandson  and,  choosing  Regenfried  as 
mayor  of  the  palace,  attacked  and  disarmed  Austrasia.  Pressed 
on  all  sides,  the  Austrasians  in  their  turn  deserted  Plectrude  and 
her  son.  Charles,  the  natural  son  of  Pippin,  escaped  from  prison 
and  became  the  leader  of  the  Austrasian  Franks.  Still,  the  name 
of  the  Merovingians  possessed  a  certain  prestige;  and  on  the  death 
of  Dagobert  III.  both  factions  elected  a  pretended  member  of  this 
degenerate  race  as  king,  Chilperic  II.  in  Neustria,  and  Lothaire  IV. 
in  Austrasia.  They  nominally  reigned,  while  the  two  real  masters 
of  these  states,  Regenfried  and  Charles,  prepared  for  a  struggle 
which  terminated  in  favor  of  the  latter,  for  by  the  memorable  vic- 
tory of  Vine,  near  Cambray,  gained  in  717,  the  wliole  of  Neustria 
became  his  conquest.  The  Neustrians  summoned  to  their  aid 
Eudes,  Duke  of  Aquitaine,  but  Charles  defeated  the  allied  troops 
of  Neustria  and  Aquitaine  near  Soissons,  and  pursued  them  up 
to  Orleans.  Lothaire  IV.,  the  puppet  King  of  Austrasia,  had  just 
died,  so  Charles  had  Chilperic  IL,  the  imbecile  King  of  Neustria, 


i\I  E  R  O  V  I  N  G  I  A  N     KINGDOMS  37 

71 9; 741 

recognized  as  sovereign  of  the  whole  empire  of  Clovis.  On  his 
death,  two  3^ears  later,  he  gave  him  Theodoric  IV.  for  a  suc- 
cessor. 

A  terrible  foe  now  menaced  the  empire  of  the  Franks.  Only  a 
century  previously  Mohammed  had  founded  a  new  religion  in 
Arabia  and  formed  a  single  state  from  the  Arab  tribes.  Already 
the  Mohammedan  armies  had  invaded  Asia,  Africa,  and  Spain,  and 
were  advancing  into  Gaul.  Narbonne  soon  succumbed  to  the 
Arabs,  and  they  next  menaced  Aquitaine  and  the  other  possessions 
of  Duke  Eudes.  This  prince,  however,  gained  two  victories  over 
the  Saracens,  but  his  states  being  again  menaced  by  Abdul-Rahman, 
the  leader  of  the  Mussulmans  in  Spain,  while  he  was  still  carrying 
on  the  war  in  the  north  of  his  states,  against  the  invincible  Charles, 
chief  of  the  Franks,  and  feeling  that  he  was  too  weak  to  contend 
against  all  these  foes,  and  constrained  to  submit  either  to  the  Franks 
or  Arabs,  he  proceeded  as  a  fugitive  to  the  court  of  Charles,  recog- 
nized him  as  his  suzerain,  and  obtained  at  this  price  the  help  of  the 
Franks.  Charles  made  a  warlike  appeal  to  all  the  warriors  of  Neus- 
tria,  Austrasia  and  western  Germany,  and  the  formidable  army  thus 
raised  encountered  and  completely  defeated  the  countless  hosts  of 
Abdul-Rahman  on  October  lo,  732,  on  the  plains  of  Poitiers.  The 
Arabs  evacuated  Aquitaine  immediately  after  their  disastrous  de- 
feat, and  this  day,  forever  memorable,  on  which  it  was  said  that 
Charles  had  hammered  the  Saracens,  gained  him  the  glorious  sur- 
name of  Martel,  or  Hammer,  which  posterity  has  retained.  One  of 
the  results  of  this  famous  campaign  was  to  restore  the  great  prov- 
ince, or  kingdom,  of  Aquitaine  and  Gascony  to  the  monarchy  of  the 
Franks,  by  the  oath  of  vassalage  which  Duke  Eudes  had  made  to 
his  liberator. 

Charles  Alartel  now  turned  his  arms  against  several  tribes  of 
Gaul  that  had  ceased  to  obey  the  unworthy  successors  of  Clovis.  He 
subjugated  the  Burgundians,  penetrated  into  Septimania,  and,  by 
the  capture  of  two  famous  cities,  Aries  and  ^Marseilles,  completed 
the  subjugation  of  Provence  to  the  monarchy  of  the  Franks.  Under 
his  government  the  hitherto  unchecked  progress  of  the  clergy  in 
power  and  wealth  was  arrested  in  Gaul,  for  he  was  bold  enough  to 
confiscate  part  of  the  estates  of  the  church  in  order  to  furnish  re- 
wards for  his  warriors.  He  did  not  assume  the  name  of  king,  but 
he  appointed  no  successor  to  Theodoric  IV.,  son  of  Dagobert  HI., 
wliom  he  had  crowned  upon  the  death  of  Chilperic   H.     Death 


38  FRANCE 

741-752 

surprised  him  in  741,  when  he  was  undertaking  an  expedition  into 
Italy,  to  succor  the  Pope  against  the  Lombards.  Before  dying,  he 
(h'vided  his  autliority  among  his  three  sons,  Pippin,  surnamed  the 
Short,  Karhnann,  and  Grifo. 

Pippin  and  Karhiiann  dispossessed  their  brother,  and  divided 
the  paternal  heritage  between  them ;  but  they  soon  saw  that  Charles 
Martel  had  not  handed  down  to  them  with  his  power  the  prestige 
attaching  to  his  formidable  and  famous  name;  and,  in  order  to 
support  their  authority,  they  drew  from  the  monastery  the  last  of 
the  Alerovingians,  who  was  proclaimed  King  of  the  Franks,  by  the 
name  of  Childeric  III.  Karlmann  soon  after  became  a  monk,  and 
entered  the  monastery  of  Monte  Cassino ;  while  Pippin,  under  the 
title  of  mayor  of  the  palace,  remained  sole  master  of  the  Prankish 
monarchy.  Having  gained  the  favor  of  the  Pope  by  offering  to 
defend  the  Holy  See  against  the  Lombards,  he  obtained  permission 
from  him  to  assume  the  title  of  king,  and  was  crowned  in  752.  Pie 
then  assembled  the  general  comitia  at  Soissons,  and,  relying  on  his 
own  power,  the  name  of  his  ancestors,  and  the  Papal  sanction,  he 
was  elected  King  of  the  Franks.  Childeric  III.  was  shorn  and  re- 
turned to  the  cloister,  which  he  was  never  to  leave  again.  Pippin 
founded  a  second  royal  dynasty,  to  be  called  the  Carlovingian,  after 
his  father's  name. 

The  power  of  the  Merovingian  kings  had  attained  its  apogee 
under  Dagobert  I.  The  Prankish  empire  had  at  that  time  for  its 
boundaries  the  German  Ocean,  the  Atlantic,  the  Pyrenees,  the  Medi- 
terranean, the  Adriatic,  the  upper  Danube,  and  the  Rhine.  The 
various  nations  Inhabiting  this  territory  recognized  the  authority  of 
the  Merovingian  kings,  some  as  being  directly  subject  to  them, 
others  as  tributaries. 

The  great  divisions  of  the  Prankish  empire  directly  subject  to 
the  IMerovingian  princes  were  Neustria,  the  country  of  the  west, 
and  Austrasia,  country  of  the  east,  whose  limits,  as  already  de- 
scribed, varied  but  slightly  during  the  whole  existence  of  the 
dynasty;  Burgundy,  which  also  comprised  Provence,  and  extended 
from  the  southern  frontier  of  Austrasia  as  far  as  the  Cevennes,  the 
iMediterranean,  and  the  Alps:  and  Aquitaine,  enclosed  between  the 
Atlantic,  the  Loire,  and  the  Garonne. 

Round  these  larger  states  were  others  governed  by  separate 
chiefs,  who  frequently  gave  the  Prankish  kings  no  other  sign  of 
submissi(jn  beyond  a  slight  tribute.     These  countries  were  to  the 


TllK    r.ASr     .MKK(,VI  \(;i  W      KIX. 
UK(Kl\K.~i     TllK     Ti)\.->1   kl-. 


Clill.DKKK       III,     lOKCIIlIA      lIKTIlkoNKD, 
AMI     IS     K.NlT.OlMKKKj).     J^J      \.|i. 
V     /;■.     r.     1. 1, mil, .11., 


MEROVINGIAN     KINGDOMS  39 

752 

north  of  Austrasia,  between  the  Rhine  and  the  Weser,  Frisia  and 
Thuringia;  to  the  east,  Allcniania  and  Bavaria;  and  to  tlie  west 
of  Neustria,  Brittany. 

Two  countries  south  of  Aquitaine  stih  contended  for  independ- 
ence: these  were  Septimania,  Xarbonensis  Prima,  which  could 
not  be  torn  from  the  Visigoths,  and  Vasconia  or  Gascony.  This 
country,  wdiich  occupied  a  portion  of  Xovempopulania,  lower  Lan- 
guedoc,  again  formed,  on  the  death  of  Eudes,  a  nearly  independent 
state,  which  sustained,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  reigns  of  the  descend- 
ants of  that  prince,  long  wars  against  Pippin  and  Charlemagne. 


Chapter    III 

THE    EMPIRE    OF    CHARLEMAGNE.     752-987 

THE  transition  from  hereditary  mayor  of  the  Franks  to 
hereditary  king  of  the  monarchy  was  an  easy  one.  The 
revokition  that  placed  the  crown  on  Pippin's  head  and 
founded  a  new  hne  of  kings  was  so  natural  that  contemporaries  did 
not  realize  its  gravity."  In  this  revolution  an  important  part  had 
heen  played  hy  the  Pope.  The  Lombards  at  that  time  possessed  the 
whole  northern  part  of  Italy,  and,  at  the  time  of  the  accession  of 
Pippin,  King  Astolphe  was  contesting  with  Pope  Zacharias  the 
possession  of  the  territory  over  which  the  Popes  exercised  temporal 
authority.  Zacharias  required  a  powerful  supporter,  and  counted 
on  the  help  of  Pippin,  if  he  could  render  him  favorable  to  his 
cause.  Consulted  by  some  Prankish  ambassadors  concerning 
the  relations  of  the  faincantes  kings  and  the  mayors  of  the  palace, 
he  replied  that  it  was  "  better  to  call  him  king  who  had  the  kingly 
power."  Pippin  treated  the  utterance  as  a  formal  approval  of  his 
course.  The  Popes  were  not  slow  in  claiming  their  reward. 
Stephen  II.  succeeded  Zacharias.  Menaced  by  the  Lombards,  he 
went  to  Pippin  and  implored  his  support.  The  king  treated  him 
with  the  greatest  honor,  and  the  Pontiff  consecrated  him  a  second 
time,  with  his  two  sons,  Charles  and  Karlmann.  In  the  sermon 
which  Stephen  preached  on  this  occasion,  he  implored  the  Franks 
never  to  elect  a  king  from  any  other  family  but  that  of  Pippin, 
and  excommunicated  those  who  might  be  tempted  to  do  so.  Stephen 
had  implored  Pi])pin's  assistance  against  Astolphe,  King  of  the 
Lombards.  The  Prankish  monarch  collected  an  army,  led  it  to  Italy, 
was  victorious,  and  ceded  to  the  Pope  the  exarchate  of  Ravenna. 
Pippin  successfully  waged  long  and  sanguinary  wars  with  the 
Piretons,  Saxons,  Saracens,  and  Aquitanians.  The  latter,  more 
especially,  offered  him  a  stubborn  resistance.  After  the  defeat  of 
the  Saracens  at  Poitiers,  Duke  Eudes  remained  at  peace  with 
Charles  Martel,  whose  suzerainty  he  had  recognized.  He  died  in 
735,  leaving  Aquitaine  to  his  elder  son  Hunold,  and  Gascony  to  his 
second  son  Otto.     Hunold  despoiled  his  brother  of  the  greater  part 

40 


C  H  A  R  L  E  M  A  G  X  E  41 

735-773 

of  his  states,  and  resolved  to  break  the  bonds  that  subjected  him  to 
the  kings  of  the  Franks.  He  therefore  waged  war  against  Karl- 
mann  and  Pippin,  the  sons  of  Charles  Alartel.  In  745,  however, 
when  Pippin  invaded  Aquitaine  at  the  head  of  a  formidable  army, 
Hunold  laid  down  his  arms  and  swore  fidelity  to  the  Prankish  kings. 
Ultimately  he  abdicated  in  favor  of  Waifar,  put  on  a  monk's  robe, 
and  shut  himself  up  in  the  monastery  of  the  Isle  of  Rhe,  where  his 
father  Eudes  lay  interred.  The  war  was  suspended  for  several 
years  between  Waifar  and  Pippin,  but  when  the  latter  had  brought 
the  Italian  war  to  a  successful  ending,  and  had  annexed  Septimania 
to  the  Prankish  monarchy,  he  invaded  Aquitaine.  Then  com- 
menced a  nine  years'  war,  marked  by  frightful  devastations,  towards 
the  close  of  which  Waifar  was  assassinated  by  his  countrymen. 
With  him  the  name  of  Merovingians  became  extinct  in  history,  and 
the  grand-duchy  of  Aquitaine  was  again  attached  to  the  crown  of 
the  Franks. 

Pi])pin  bestowed  great  largess  on  the  clergy,  and  through  his 
whole  life  displayed  the  greatest  deference  to  them.  Pie  frequently 
assembled  the  comitia  of  the  kingdom,  to  which  he  always  sum- 
moned the  bishops,  seeking  to  interest  them  in  the  success  of  his 
enterprises.  His  character  may  be  summed  up  in  a  few  words,  by 
saying  that  he  was  brave,  strong,  moderate  and  prudent.  Before 
his  death  in  768,  when  he  had  reigned  seven  years,  he  asked  the 
advice  of  his  nobles  in  dividing  his  estates  between  his  two  sons, 
Charles  and  Karlmann,  and  the  result  was  that  the  assembly  of 
nobles  and  bishops  willingly  recognized  Charles  as  King  of  the  West, 
and  Karlmann  as  King  of  the  Fast.  Ambition  soon  armed  Charles 
and  Karlmann  against  each  other.  The  death  of  the  latter  stifled 
the  germs  of  civil  war,  and  in  771  Charles  usurped  the  states  of 
his  brother,  to  the  prejudice  of  his  nephews.  The  whole  nation  of 
the  Franks  from  this  moment  recognized  the  authority  of  Charles, 
for  whom  his  victories  and  great  qualities  acquired  the  surname  of 
Great,  or  Magnus,  and  who  is  known  in  history  by  the  name  of 
Charlemagne. 

During  a  reign  of  forty-six  years  this  prince  extended  his 
country's  frontiers  beyond  the  Danuljc,  imposed  tribute  on  the  bar- 
barian nations  as  far  as  the  Vistula,  con(|Ucred  a  portion  of  Italy, 
and  rendered  himself  formidable  to  the  Saracens.  He  first  went 
into  Italy,  on  the  entreaty  of  Pope  Adrian  I.,  and  marched  to  assist 
him  against  Didier,  King  of  the  Lombards,  whose  daughter  he  had 


42  F  R  A  N  C  E 

773-778 

himself  married  and  repudiated.  He  made  this  king  a  prisoner, 
himself  assumed  the  iron  crown,  and  put  an  end  to  the  Lombard 
rule  in  Italy,  which  had  lasted  for  two  hundred  and  six  years. 
Charlemagne  during  this  expedition  went  to  Rome,  where  he  pre- 
sented himself  to  the  Pope,  wdiom  he  had  saved,  kissing  each  step  of 
the  Pontifical  palace.  He  believed  himself  called  to  subject  to 
Christianity  the  barbarous  nations  of  Europe,  and  when  persuasion 
did  not  avail  to  the  triumph  of  the  faith,  he  had  recourse  to  con- 
quest and  punishments.  The  Saxons  formed  at  this  period  a  con- 
siderable nation,  divided  into  a  multitude  of  small  tribes.  They 
were  idolators,  and  among  other  acts  of  cruelty  toward  the  mis- 
sionaries who  had  gone  among  them,  they  burned  the  church  of 
Deventer  and  all  the  Christians  in  it.  Charlemagne  heard  of  this, 
marched  against  them,  and  conquered  them.  After  putting  down 
several  revolts  against  his  authority,  Charlemagne  held,  in  775,  a 
celebrated  assembly  at  Paderborn,  where  he  obliged  all  the  Saxons 
to  receive  baptism,  and  divided  their  principalities  among  abbots  and 
bishops.  Hence  dates  the  origin  of  the  ecclesiastical  principalities 
in  Germany.. 

After  conquering  the  Saxons  Charlemagne  turned  his  arms 
against  the  Saracens.  Civil  wars  had  broken  out  among  them  in 
the  eighth  century,  the  ^Mussulmans  being  divided  between  the  fam- 
ily of  the  Abassides,  who  resided  at  Bagdad,  and  that  of  the  Om- 
miades,  who  governed  Spain.  The  latter  country,  how'ever,  was 
agitated  by  factions,  and  one  of  them  entreated  the  aid  of  Charle- 
magne against  Abdul-Rahman,  lieutenant  of  the  Ommiade  Caliph. 
On  this  Charlemagne  sent  two  powerful  armies  into  Spain,  expect- 
mg  that,  according  to  promise,  Saragossa  would  open  its  gates  to 
his  troops.  His  expectations  were  deceived.  Saragossa  did  not 
open  its  gates;  the  faction  who  had  summoned  him  to  their  aid 
rose  against  him  and  the  king  was  compelled  to  order  a  retreat. 
The  defiles  of  the  mnnntains  were  held  at  the  time  by  the  Basques. 
They  were  governed  at  this  by  W'olf  H.,  who  had  inherited 
the  hatred  oi  his  race  iov  the  family  of  Charlemagne.  W'hen  he 
saw  the  Prankish  army,  on  its  retreat,  entangled  in  the  defiles  of 
Roncesvallcs,  he  had  it  attacked  by  his  mountaineers,  wdio  rolled 
stones  anrl  rocks  down  on  it.  The  disaster  was  immense:  the  rear- 
guard was  destroyed  to  the  last  man;  and  here,  too.  perished  the 
lamons  jjaladin,  Poland,  who  is  hardly  known  in  history,  though 
so  celebrated  in  the  romances  of  chivalry. 


ROLAM),    I'AI.AIHX 


)!■■    (   II  \KI.I:M  ACM-.,    1  Al.l.S    1-()|:    SICCdK    1  .\     iHi: 
i;  \TTI.I-:    i)|-     K(i.\(  K>\  Al.l.KS 


C  H  A  R  L  E  M  A  G  N  E  43 

779-804 

Charlemagne  continued  in  the  following  year  the  conquest  of 
Saxony,  which  had  again  revolted  and  defeated  his  lieutenants.  He 
subjected  it  once  again  in  782,  and,  in  order  to  keep  it  in  check  by  a 
terrible  example,  he  beheaded,  on  the  l)anks  of  the  Aller.  four 
thousand  five  hundred  Saxon  prisoners.  The  Frisians,  the  Bretons 
of  Armorica,  and  the  Bavarians  next  revolted  and  attacked  Charle- 
magne simultaneously.  They  were,  however,  crushed  by  the 
Prankish  monarch  one  after  another,  the  independence  of  the  Ba- 
varians being  destroyed,  as  that  of  the  Lombards  had  been. 

Charles  had  given  Aquitaine,  with  the  royal  title,  to  his  son, 
Louis,  under  the  guardianship  of  William  Shortnose,  Duke  of 
Toulouse.  Three  other  provinces  were  equally  subject  to  the  au- 
thority of  the  young  king.  They  were,  on  the  east,  Septimania,  or 
Languedoc;  on  the  west,  Novempopulania,  or  Gascony;  and  lastly, 
on  the  south,  the  marches  of  Spain,  as  the  provinces  conquered  by 
the  Franks  beyond  the  Pyrenees  were  called.  These  w'ere  divided 
into  the  Alarch  of  Gothia,  which  contained  nearly  the  whole  of 
Catalonia,  and  the  March  of  Gascony,  which  extended  as  far  as  the 
Ebro  into  Aragon  and  Navarre.  This  vast  territory,  bordered  by 
the  Loire,  the  Ebro,  the  Rhone,  and  the  two  seas,  was  attacked  in 
793  ^^y  t^^G  Saracen  general  Abdul-Malek,  who  defeated  Duke  \\'il- 
liam  at  the  passage  of  the  Obrin,  and  returned  to  Spain  with  im- 
mense booty.  Charlemagne  deferred  taking  his  revenge.  He  was 
occupied  with  church  matters,  the  opinions  of  the  faithful  being 
divided  at  the  time  between  the  second  Council  of  Niciea,  which, 
in  787,  had  ordered  the  adoration  of  images,  and  the  Council  of 
Frankfurt,  which  condemned  them  in  794  as  idolatry.  Charle- 
magne energetically  supported  the  decision  of  the  last-named  council, 
but  Pope  Adrian,  who  in  reality  supjwrted  the  opinion  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  Niccea,  avoided  the  expression  of  any  view,  and  evaded  the 
question  in  order  not  to  offend  his  powerful  protector. 

Charlemagne  next  turned  against  the  Avars,  a  people  inhabit- 
ing the  marches  of  Hungary,  who,  after  several  disastrous  expedi- 
tions had  been  undertaken  to  subdue  them,  were  ultimately  con- 
quered by  his  son  Pippin. 

The  Saxons  had  joined  the  A\'ars  in  this  w^ar.  They  had  burned 
the  churches,  murdered  the  priests,  and  returned  in  crowds  to  their 
false  gods.  Charlemagne  adopted  against  them  a  system  of  ex- 
termination, but  the  Saxons  were  not  finally  subdued  till  the  year 
804,  after  thirty-two  years  of    fighting,    revolt,    and    massacres. 


44  FRANCE 

795-814 

Charlemagne,  in  order  to  watch  and  restrain  them  the  better,  trans- 
ferred his  usual  residence  to  Aix-la-Chapelle,  which  he  made  the 
capital  of  his  empire. 

Leo  III.  succeeded  Hadrian  I.  in  795  as  Pontiff.  A  con- 
spiracy was  formed  to  overthrow  him  in  799.  Wounded  and  im- 
prisoned, he  escaped  and  fled  to  vSpoleto,  where  he  implored  the  help 
of  Charlemagne,  who  made  a  last  journey  to  Italy  for  the  purpose 
of  restoring  to  Leo  his  crown.  Charles  on  Christmas  Day  was  on 
his  knees  and  praying  in  the  cathedral  of  St.  Peter;  the  Pope  ap- 
proached him  and  placed  the  imperial  crown  upon  his  head.  The 
people  straightway  saluted  him  with  the  name  of  Augustus,  and 
from  that  moment  Charlemagne  regarded  himself  as  the  real  suc- 
cessor of  the  Roman  emperors.  After  his  coronation  as  emperor  he 
had  but  insignificant  wars  to  wage,  and  on  attaining  the  supreme 
dignity  he  also  reached  the  end  of  his  most  difficult  enterprises. 
During  the  last  eight  years  of  his  reign  he  promulgated  decrees  and 
instituted  numerous  administrative,  ecclesiastical,  judicial,  and  mil- 
itary institutions,  which  were  all  intended  to  strengthen  the  social 
order,  and  maintain  all  parts  of  his  immense  empire  in  union  and 
peace.  He  convened,  at  the  field  of  March,  in  the  year  806,  an 
assembly  of  the  nobles  of  his  kingdom,  in  order  to  arrange  with 
them  the  partition  of  his  states  between  his  three  sons,  Charles, 
Pippin,  and  Louis.  To  the  first  he  assigned  the  northern  part  of 
Gaul,  with  Germany;  to  the  second  he  gave  Italy  and  Bavaria,  with 
lu's  concjuests  in  Pannonia ;  the  tliird  had  Acjuitaine,  Burgundy,  and 
the  marches  of  Spain.  This  division,  consented  to  by  the  nobles 
and  the  people,  was  sanctioned  by  the  Pope. 

The  last  years  of  Charlemagne  were  saddened  by  domestic 
sorrows.  He  had  to  blush  at  the  irregularities  of  his  daughters 
and  lamented  the  death  of  his  sons,  Charles  and  Pippin.  The  first 
left  no  children,  the  second  had  one  son,  Bernard,  to  whom  the 
emperor  granted  the  kingdom  of  Italy.  He  next  wished  to  have 
the  youngest  of  his  legitimate  sons,  whom  death  had  spared,  Louis, 
King  of  Aquitainc,  recognized  as  his  successor,  and  summoned  him 
to  the  great  September  assembly  of  Aix-la-Chapelle.  There  he 
presented  him  to  the  bish()i)s,  abbots,  counts,  and  lords  of  the 
l"^-anks,  and  asked  them  to  recognize  him  as  emperor.  All  con- 
sented. 

Charlemagne  was  attaining  the  close  of  his  notable  career.  He 
devoted  the  last  months  of  his  life  to  devotional  works,  and  divided 


CHAR  L  E  M  A  G  N  E  45 

814 

h"is  time  between  prayer,  the  distribution  of  alms,  and  the  study  of 
versions  of  tlie  gospels  in  different  languages.  He  directed  this 
task  up  to  the  eve  of  his  death,  which  was  caused  by  fever  toward 
the  middle  of  January,  814.  He  had  entered  upon  his  seventy- 
second  year,  having  reigned  for  fort)'-six  years  over  the  Franks, 
forty-three  over  the  Lombards,  and  fourteen  over  the  empire  of  the 
west.  He  was  interred  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  in  the  church  of  St. 
Mary,  which  he  had  built. 

The  exploits  and  conquests  of  this  great  monarch,  too  often 
stamped  with  the  barbarism  of  the  age,  are  not  his  greatest  titles 
to  the  admiration  and  respect  of  posterity.  What  really  elevates  him 
above  his  age  is  the  legislative  spirit  and  the  genius  of  civilization, 
both  of  which  he  possessed  in  an  eminent  degree.  Charlemagne 
undertook  to  substitute  order  for  anarcliy,  learning  for  ignorance, 
in  the  vast  countries  that  obeyed  him,  and  to  subject  to  law  and  a 
regular  administration  many  nations,  still  savage,  strangers  to  each 
other,  differing  in  origin,  language,  and  manners,  and  with  no  other 
link  among  them  than  that  of  concjuest. 

The  perpetual  wars  which  Charlemagne  waged  in  order  to 
maintain  the  unity  of  his  immense  empire,  and  substitute  in  it  civi- 
lization for  barbarism,  originated  from  his  victories  themselves; 
and  they  rather  bear  testimony  to  the  greatness  of  his  efforts  than 
to  their  success.  His  work  remained  incomplete,  but  his  glory  cori- 
sists  in  having  undertaken  it ;  and  if  he  did  not  complete  it,  it  was 
because  completion  was  impossible.  Charlemagne  understood  that 
the  most  efficacious  method  of  civilizing  a  nation  is  by  instructing 
it ;  he  consequently  sought  to  restore  a  taste  for  letters  and  the  arts. 
He  encouraged  the  laborious  tasks  of  the  monks,  who  preserved  the 
celebrated  writings  of  antiquity  by  transcribing  them;  he  even 
obliged  the  princesses,  his  daughters,  to  occupy  themselves  in  this 
task.  He  founded  and  supported  schools  in  many  places,  frequently 
inspected  them  himself,  and  examined  the  pupils. 

He  employed  of  preference,  in  affairs  of  state,  those  persons 
who  were  distinguished  by  their  acquirements,  and  spared  nothing 
to  attract  to  his  court  men  of  letters  and  clever  teachers.  Among 
those  who  enjoyed  his  favor  the  most  celebrated  is  the  Saxon 
Alcuin,  a  prodigy  of  learning  for  the  age  in  which  he  lived. 

In  the  em])ire  of  Charlemagne  a  distinction  must  be  drawn 
between  the  countries  directly  subject  to  the  emperor  and  adminis- 
tered by  his  counts,  and  those  which  were  only  tributary.      The 


46       '  FRANCE 

814 

former  alone  constituted  the  empire  properly  so  called,  whose  limits 
were:  to  the  north,  the  German  Ocean  and  the  Baltic,  as  far  as  the 
Island  of  Riigen ;  to  the  west,  the  Atlantic,  as  far  as  the  Pyrenees; 
to  the  south,  the  course  of  the  Ebro,  the  Mediterranean,  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Ebro,  in  Spain,  to  that  of  the  Garigliano,  in  Italy,  and 
the  Adriatic,  up  to  the  promontory  of  Dalmatia  ;  to  the  east,  Croatia, 
the  course  of  the  Theiss,  Moravia,  Bohemia,  a  part  of  the  Elbe, 
and  a  line  which,  starting  from  the  angle  which  the  latter  now  makes 
when  turning  westward,  would  run  along  the  western  shore  of 
Riigen. 

The  immense  country  comprised  between  these  limits  was  ad- 
ministered by  the  free  counts.  We  must,  however,  except  the 
Amorican  Peninsula  or  Brittany,  which  was  only  tributary,  as  well 
as  the  country  of  the  Navarrese  and  Basques,  situated  between  the 
Elbe  and  the  Pyrenees ;  the  states  of  the  church,  or  patrimony  of 
St.  Peter,  governed  by  the  Bishop  of  Rome ;  Gacta,  Venice  and  a 
certain  number  of  maritime  cities  in  Dalmatia,  which  were  depend- 
ent on  the  Greek  empire  of  Constantinople. 

Along  these  frontiers  was  a  number  of  tributary  states  more 
or  less  in  a  state  of  dependence  on  the  emperor.  The  principal  peo- 
ples were,  in  Italy,  the  Beneventines ;  in  Germany,  several  Sclavonic 
tribes  on  the  banks  of  the  Danube,  the  Elbe,  and  the  Baltic,  up  to  the 
Oder.  The  scepter  of  Charlemagne  also  extended,  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean, though  not  without  perpetual  and  sanguinary  conflicts,  over 
the  Ikdearic  Islands,  Corsica,  and  Sardinia. 

Some  provinces  upon  the  borders  bore,  as  we  have  already 
stated,  the  name  of  marches.  They  were  the  Western  March 
(.Austria),  the  AFarcli  of  Carinthia  (the  Duchy  of  Friuli),  to  which 
were  at  [ached  all  the  countries  to  the  south  of  the  Drave,  and  the 
two  Marches  of  Spain,  Gothia  and  Gascony. 

The  empire  that  Charlemagne  had  built  up  fell  to  pieces  almost 
as  soon  as  his  strong  hand  was  withdrawn  by  death.  It  had  been 
a  personrd  task  that  he  had  undertaken ;  among  his  descendants  none 
proved  strong  enough  to  bear  such  a  burden. 

Louis  T.,  surnamcd  the  Mild  or  the  Pious,  youngest  son  and 
successor  of  Charlemagne,  has  been  aptly  named  "a  crowned 
j)riest."  At  his  father's  death  he  was  thirty-six  years  old.  Unskill- 
ful in  his  conduct,  and  of  weak  character,  but  animated  by  a  desire 
for  justice  and  for  the  right,  he  hastened  to  order  severe  reforms; 
and  ere  he  had  established  his  authority  on  a  solid  basis  he  punished 


C  H  xV  R  T.  E  M  A  G  N  E  47 

814-818 

powerful  culprits,  and  tried  to  destroy  a  multitude  of  abuses  by 
which  the  nobles  profited.  The  oppressed  nations  found  in  him 
a  just  judge  and  indulgent  master.  He  protected  the  Aquitanians, 
the  Saxons,  and  Spanish  Christians  against  the  imperial  lieutenants, 
and  diminished  their  taxes,  to  the  injury  of  their  governors.  He 
reformed  the  clergy,  by  obliging  the  bishops  to  remain  in  their 
dioceses,  and  subjected  the  monks  to  the  inquisition  of  the  severe 
Benedict  of  Aniane,  who  imposed  the  Benedictine  rule  upon  them. 
Lastly,  as  an  example  of  good  manners,  he  tried  to  avenge  morality 
by  expelling  with  disgrace  from  tlic  imperial  palace  his  father's 
numerous  concubines,  and  the  lovers  of  his  sisters.  But  he  could 
not  keep  either  his  court  or  his  warriors  in  obedience,  and  his 
weakness  for  his  wives  and  children  occasioned  long  and  san- 
guinary wars. 

In  the  hour  of  danger  all  those  whose  interests  he  had  vio- 
lently injured  leagued  against  him.  The  first  insurrection  took 
place  in  Italy.  The  emperor  had  shared  the  empn-e  with  his  son 
Lothaire,  with  the  assent  of  the  Franks  assembled  at  the  comitia 
of  Aix-la-Chapelle  in  817;  then  he  gave  the  kingdoms  of  Bavaria 
and  Aquitaine  to  his  other  two  sons,  Louis  and  Pippin ;  his  nephew 
Bernard  remaining  King  of  Italy.  The  latter,  whose  father  was 
the  emperor's  elder  brother,  was  jealous  at  the  elevation  of  Lothaire, 
for  he  hoped,  after  his  uncle's  death,  to  obtain  the  imperial  crown 
as  chief  of  the  Carlovingian  familv.  A  great  number  of  malcon- 
tent lords  and  bishops  invited  Bernard  to  assert  his  rights,  and  col- 
lected troops,  Louis  marched  to  meet  his  nephew  at  the  head  of 
his  soldiers.  On  his  approach,  Bernard,  who  was  deserted  by  a 
portion  of  his  follow-ers,  obtained  a  safe  conduct  from  the  emperor, 
and  went  into  his  camp,  with  several  chiefs  of  his  army.  Louis, 
persuaded  by  his  consort  Ermengarde,  had  Bernard's  accomplices 
tried  and  executed,  while  the  unfortunate  king  himself  was  con- 
demned to  lose  his  sight,  and  did  not  survive  the  i)unishment.  His 
kingdom  of  Italy  was  given  to  Lothaire.  A  few  years  later  the 
emperor,  in  a  national  assembly  held  at  Attigny,  in  S22,  did  public 
penance  for  this  crime.  From  this  period  he  only  displayed  weak- 
ness. The  frontier  nations  insulted  tlie  empire  with  impunity;  the 
Gascons  and  Saracens  in  the  south,  the  Bretons  in  the  west,  and  the 
Norman  pirates  in  the  north  committed  frightful  ravages.  Internal 
discord  seconded  their  audacity:  the  imperial  troops  were  defeated, 
and  Louis  saw  his  frontiers  contracted  in  the  north  and  south.      In 


48  FRANCE 

813-833 

this  way  the  kingdom  of  Navarre  was  founded  at  the  foot  of  the 
Pyrenees. 

Ermengarde,  the  wife  of  Louis  the  Pious,  died  in  818,  and  in 
819  the  emperor  espoused  Judith,  daughter  of  a  Bavarian  lord.  Pie 
had  by  her  a  son  called  Charles,  to  whom,  in  829,  he  gave  Alsace, 
Alemannia,  and  Rhaetia,  which  he  formed  into  the  kingdom  of 
Germany.  This  drew  down  upon  Charles  the  enmity  of  Lothaire, 
who  looked  with  jealousy  on  the  assignment  of  any  portion  of  the 
imperial  domains,  which  he  considered  dc  jure  as  his  own,  to  his 
young  half-brother,  although  he  had  sworn  to  liis  father  to  main- 
tain Charles  in  the  possession  of  any  share  that  might  be  assigned  to 
him.  Shortly  after,  the  majority  of  the  nobles  and  bishops  and  the 
emperor's  sons,  Lothaire,  Louis,  and  Pippin,  jealous  of  the  influence 
that  Bernard,  Duke  of  Septimania,  and  son  of  his  old  guardian, 
William  Shortnose,  exercised  in  the  imperial  council,  declared  war 
against  the  unfortunate  Louis,  who  fell  into  the  powder  of  the  rebels 
at  Compiegne.  Judith  was  confined  by  them  in  a  convent;  Ber- 
nard took  to  flight,  and  the  emperor  was  placed  in  a  monastery, 
while  Lothaire  seized  the  government  of  the  empire. 

The  nobles  were  divided  between  Louis  and  his  sons.  The 
latter  were  supported  in  their  revolt  by  the  inhabitants  of  Gaul, 
while  the  Germans  remained  faithful  to  the  emperor.  A  general 
assembly  of  the  estates  held  in  830,  at  Nimeguen,  pronounced  in  his 
favor  and  against  his  sons.  Lothaire  w^as  reconciled  to  his  father 
by  sacrificing  all  his  partisans  to  him.  Louis  began  to  reign  again, 
and  once  more  disgusted  the  nation  by  his  weakness.  His  sons — 
Lothaire,  Louis,  and  Pippin — revolted  once  again,  took  up  arms, 
and  marched  against  their  father.  Pope  Gregory  IV.  was  with 
them,  and  tried  in  vain  to  prevent  bloodshed.  The  two  armies  met 
near  Colmar;  the  emperor's  troops  deserted  him.  The  unfortunate 
king  fell  into  the  hands  of  his  son  Lothaire,  wdio,  by  the  aid  of  a 
council  of  bishops,  forced  him  to  accuse  himself  publicly  of  sacrilege 
and  homicide  in  the  cathedral  of  Rheims,  and  humbly  ask  for  abso- 
lution for  his  sins.  As  soon  as  this  shameful  ceremony  was  over, 
Lothaire  conducted  his  father  as  a  prisoner  to  Aix-la-Chapelle,  the 
seat  of  the  empire,  a  place  which  had  formerly  w^itnessed  his  gran- 
deur and  now  witnessed  his  ignominy. 

Louis  the  German  and  Pippin  declared  themselves  the  avengers 
of  their  outragctl  father,  far  less  through  affection  for  him  than 
through  jealous  hatred  of  their  brother;  the  latter,  deserted  by  his 


C  IT  A  R  L  ]■:  M  A  G  N  E  49 

833-840 

partisans,  took  refug'e  in  Italy,  while  the  emperor,  with  the  assent 
of  the  estates  assembled  at  Thionville,  resumed  his  crown.  lie 
pardoned  Lothaire,  but  in  838,  at  the  estates  of  Kersy-on-the-Oise, 
he  for  a  second  time  benefited  his  son  Charles  at  the  expense  of  his 
elder  brother,  and  Louis  the  German  consented  to  cede  a  portion 
of  his  provinces  to  his  brother.  Pippin,  King  of  Aquitaine,  died  in 
the  course  of  the  year.  He  left  a  son  of  the  same  name,  dear  to 
the  Aquitanians,  who  recognized  him  as  king,  under  the  title  of 
Pippin  II.  The  emperor,  however,  had  other  projects.  He  se- 
cretly reserved  Aquitaine  for  his  son  Charles.  On  his  side,  Louis 
regretted  the  concession  which  he  liad  made  at  Kersy  of  the  great 
portion  of  his  estates  to  his  brother,  and  had  taken  up  arms  again. 
The  Germans  had  followed  his  banner  to  the  right  bank  of  the 
Rhine,  but  the  armies  of  Gaul,  composed  of  a  mixture  of  men  of 
the  Gallic  and  German  races  establislied  for  a  long  time  in  that 
country,  had  remained  faithful  to  the  emperor.  He  crossed  the 
Rhine  at  their  head.  The  Germanic  army  disbanded  without  strik- 
ing a  blow;  Louis  retired  into  Bavaria,  and  the  emperor  punished 
him  by  reducing  his  inheritance  to  that  solitary  province. 

The  moment  had  arrived  to  secure  Charles  the  share  which 
his  affection  had  ahvays  desired  for  him  at  the  expense  of  his 
brothers.  The  empire  was  divided  into  two  parts  of  equal  size, 
destined  for  Lothaire  and  Charles.  This  new  partition  was  pro- 
claimed in  a  diet  convoked  at  Worms  in  May,  839.  It  was  effected 
by  a  line  which,  starting  from  the  mouths  of  the  Scheldt,  ran  along 
the  Meuse  up  to  its  source,  and  tlie  Saone  as  far  as  its  confluence 
with  the  Rhone  and  terminated  at  the  mouth  of  the  latter  river. 
The  choice  was  left  to  Lothaire,  who  took  the  eastern  half  of  the 
empire,  comprising  Italy,  Germany,  less  Bavaria,  Provence,  and  a 
small  part  of  Burgundy  and  Austrasia;  Charles  had  for  his  share 
Aquitaine,  Neustria,and  the  rest  of  Austrasia  and  Burgundy.  Louis 
was  passed  over  in  this  partition,  and  Pippin  II.,  the  emperor's 
grandson,  was  despoiled.  These  two  princes  took  up  arms,  and 
the  emperor,  while  marching  into  Germany  to  encounter  Louis, 
was  attacked  by  an  illness  which  brought  him  to  the  grave  at  the  end 
of  forty  days.  He  died,  840,  at  Ingelheim,  at  the  age  of  sixty-two. 
Louis  the  Pious  was  not  born  for  the  throne,  though  he  had  some 
of  the  qualities  of  a  good  prince.  His  morals  were  excellent,  and 
he  paid  great  attention  to  the  administration  of  justice  and  the 
instruction  of  his  people,  but  he  possessed  neither  strength  nor  dig- 


50  FRANCE 

840-843 

nity,  without  which  the  supreme  authority  is  but  a  vain  word.  His 
imprudent  weakness  for  Charles,  the  son  of  his  old  age,  occasioned 
wars  which  w-cre  only  extinguished  with  his  race.  In  order 
to  ensure  him  a  vast  em])ire,  he  embroiled  all  the  frontiers  of 
his  states,  and  this  partition  accelerated  the  outbreak  of  great 
calamities. 

After  the  death  of  Louis  the  empire  \vas  plunged  for  ten  years 
into  anarchy.  His  three  sons  and  his  grandson,  Pippin  II.,  carried 
on  an  obstinate  war  against  each  other.  The  Emperor  Lothaire 
united  with  his  nephew  Pippin  to  despoil  his  two  brothers,  Louis, 
who  was  called  the  German,  and  Charles  II.,  who  from  this  period 
was  surnamed  th.e  Bald.  The  first  possessed  only  Bavaria ;  the 
second  was  master  of  the  whole  of  Germany.  The  combined 
armies  of  the  two  kings  encountered  those  of  Lothaire  and  Pippin 
near  Auxerre,  in  the  plains  of  Fontenay.  Lothaire  w'as  conquered, 
but  renewed  the  struggle.  Louis  and  Charles  met  at  Strasbnrg, 
where  they  resumed  their  alliance,  taking  oath  in  the  presence  of 
tlie  people.  A  new  partition  was  made  soon  after  at  Verdun,  in 
843,  between  the  three  brothers,  and  irrevocably  separated  the  inter- 
ests of  Gaul  as  a  power  from  those  of  Germany.  Charles  had  the 
countries  situated  to  the  west  of  the  Scheldt,  Saone,  and  Rhone, 
with  the  north  of  Sjiain  up  to  the  Ebro.  Louis  the  German  had 
Germany  up  to  llie  Rhine.  Lothaire,  renouncing  all  supremacy, 
but  retaining  the  title  of  emperor,  connected  to  Italy  the  territory 
situated  between  his  brothers'  states.  By  the  Treaty  of  Verdun, 
three  kingdoms  had  been  created,  France,  Germany,  and  Italy,  and 
the  most  fragile  part  of  Charlemagne's  \vork — territorial  unity — 
was  dcstrnycd.  Tlie  antagonism  of  nationalities  was  the  result 
of  the  Treaty  of  Verdun. 

So  many  commotions  and  combats  completely  exhausted  the 
kingdoms  formed  out  of  the  debris  of  the  empire.  The  frontiers 
were  abandoned  to  foreigners.  The  Normans,  united  to  the 
Ihx'tons,  in  tlie  north  rmd  west,  the  Saracens  in  the  south,  laid  w^aste 
everything  with  fire  and  sword.  Rouen,  Bordeaux,  and  Nantes 
were  burned;  the  Xorsnans  reached  Paris,  and  while  terror  kept 
Charles  slint  up  at  St.  Denis,  they  plundered  the  capital  and  only 
left  it  to  reappear  there  st)on  after  in  greater  numbers  and  more 
formidable  th.,an  before.  These  men  of  the  north,  called  Danes  in 
I^ngkuid,  and  Normans  in  Gaul,  hatl  remained  pagans,  and  were 
still  proud,  even  in  the  ninth  century,  uf  their  title  as  sons  of  Odin. 


C  H  A  R  L  E  M  A  G  N  E  51 

843-877 

One  of  their  chiefs,  who  was  famous  for  his  audacity  and  ferocity, 
the  pirate  Hastings,  after  ravaging  France,  penetrated  into  Italy 
and  returned  to  spread  desolation  and  terror  through  the  whole 
country  between  the  Seine  and  the  Loire.  Charles  the  Bald  had 
intrusted  the  defense  of  this  territory,  with  the  title  of  Count  of 
Anjou,  to  a  celebrated  warrior,  Robert  the  Strong,  who  was  already 
Count  of  Paris,  and  the  founder  of  the  family  of  the  Capets,  which 
afterwards  occupied  the  throne  of  France.  Robert,  whom  the 
chronicles  of  the  time  called  the  ^Maccalxrus  of  France,  was  killed, 
and  from  that  moment  nothing  arrested  the  devastating  torrent. 
In  the  midst  of  the  general  weakening  of  the  empire,  the  clergy 
alone  increased  their  fortune  anrl  power.  The  real  master  of  Gaul 
was  Hincmar,  Archbishop  of  Rheims.  He  it  was  who  defended 
with  the  greatest  success  the  authority  of  Charles  the  Bald  against 
those  who  preferred  to  him  his  brother,  Louis  the  German.  The 
bishops  supported  the  kings  they  had  crowned;  they  governed  in 
matters  temporal  as  well  as  spiritual,  in  war  as  well  as  in  peace. 
It  was  Hincmar  who  convoked,  in  the  king's  name,  the  bishops 
and  counts  to  march  against  the  enemy. 

Lothaire  I.  had  died  in  a  monastery  in  855,  after  sharing  the 
empire  for  the  last  ten  years  with  his  son,  Louis  II.,  snrnamed  tlie 
Young,  and  giving  kingdoms  to  his  otlicr  sons,  I'rovence  to 
Charles,  and  the  country  contained  between  the  ]\lcuse,  Scheldt, 
Rhine,  and  Franche  Comte  to  Lothaire  II.  It  Vv-as  called,  after  the 
name  of  its  sovereign,  Lotharingia,  whence  we  have  the  name  of 
Lorraine,  which  has  adhered  to  it.  Lothaire  IT.  died  at  Rome  in 
869.  Llis  three  sons  survived  him  but  a  short  time,  and  Louis  the 
German  and  Charles  the  Bald  divided  their  estates  between  them. 
On  the  death  of  the  Emperor  Louis  11.,  in  875,  his  uncle  Charles 
the  Bald  seized  the  imperial  crown.  It  was  but  the  shadow  of  tliat 
worn  by  Charlemagne.  The  empire  was  exhausted.  In  the  midst 
of  the  constantly  increasing  anarchy,  the  freemen,  preferring  secur- 
ity to  an  independence  full  of  perils,  made  themseU'es  the  vassals 
of  powerful  men  capable  of  defending  them.  As  early  as  847  the 
weak  Charles  the  Bald  allowed  to  be  drawn  from  him  the  Edict  of 
Mersen,  which  provided  that  every  freeman  could  choose  a  lord, 
either  the  king  or  one  of  his  vassals,  and  that  none  of  them  should 
be  bound  to  follow  the  king  to  war  except  against  foreigners.  The 
king  thus  remained  powerless  and  disarmed  in  civil  wars. 

Thirty  years  later  the  nobles  completed  the  ruin  of  imperial 


52  FRANC  E 

877-884 

and  royal  authority  by  obtaining  at  Kcrsy  from  the  same  king,  then 
emperor,  tlie  celebrated  decree  which  rendered  it  legal  for  the  sons 
of  counts  who  should  die  in  an  expedition  about  to  be  made  into 
Italy  to  inherit  the  benefices  and  offices  held  by  their  fathers.  For 
a  long  time  past  the  counts  or  officers  of  the  emperor,  taking  advan- 
tage of  the  general  anarchy  as  well  as  of  tlie  ignorance  and  sloth 
of  the  sovereigns  of  the  first  and  second  races,  had  in  the  first  place 
contrived  to  render  their  offices  irrevocaljlc,  after  the  example  of 
holders  of  benefices;  then  they  transmitted  tliem  to  their  sons.  But 
no  law  sanctioned  this  right  of  inheritance.  Charles  the  Bald,  by 
legalizing  it,  dealt  the  last  blow  to  the  authority  of  the  sovereigns. 
Henceforth  it  was  not  the  king  who  chose  the  counts,  but  the 
counts  who  disposed  of  the  throne.  The  dismemberment  of  the 
empire  was  rapidly  effected,  and  a  new  order  of  things,  the  feudal 
system,  was  the  consequence  of  this  edict — the  last  important  act 
of  the  reign  of  Charles  the  Bald,  who  died  in  the  same  year  (877) 
at  a  village  on  IMount  Cenis. 

The  last  descendants  of  Charlemagne  nearly  all  proved  them- 
selves in  weakness  and  nullity  the  rivals  of  the  last  Alerovingians. 
Louis  II.,  called  the  Stammerer,  and  successor  of  Charles  the  Bald 
in  Italy  and  Gaul,  lost  in  turn,  through  revolts,  Italy,  Brittany, 
Lorraine,  and  Gascony.  He  recognized  the  fact  that  he  owed  his 
title  only  to  the  election  of  the  lords,  bishops,  and  peoples.  Louis 
the  Stammerer  left  two  sons,  Louis  and  Karlmann,  and  a  posthu- 
mous son,  Charles.  The  first  two  were  recognized  as  kings  in 
879;  the  elder,  Louis  III.,  reigned  over  the  north  of  France,  and 
Karlmann  over  the  south.  These  two  princes  lived  on  good  terms, 
but  during  their  reign  the  Normans  committed  frightful  ravages. 
At  the  same  period  Duke  Boso,  brother-in-law  of  Charles  the 
Bald,  seized  Provence,  which  was  also  called  Cisjuran  Burgundy, 
of  which  country  he  was  proclaimed  king  by  an  assembly  of  bishops. 

Louis  and  Karlmann  both  died  very  young,  the  first  in  882,  in 
an  expedition  against  the  Normans;  the  second  in  884,  while  hunt- 
ing. Neither  left  any  male  issue,  and  the  crown  devolved,  by 
hereditary  right,  on  Charles,  who  was  only  five  years  of  age  at  the 
death  of  Karlmann.  His  youth  caused  him  to  be  excluded  from 
the  throne  by  tlie  nobles,  who  elected  in  his  stead,  as  king,  the 
Emperor  Charles  the  I-'at,  son  of  Louis  the  German.  This  j)rincc, 
by  the  death  of  his  two  brothers,  and  the  three  sons  of  Lothaire, 
his  cousins,  had  inherited  Germany  and  Italy:    he  joined  Gaul  to 


C  II  A  R  L  E  M  A  G  N  E  53 

884-898 

them,  and  the  empire  of  Charlemag-ne  was  momentarily  reestab- 
lished in  his  hands.  But  he  was  only  nominally  emperor  and  king. 
The  Normans  braved  him  and  attacked  Paris.  During  the  siege, 
Eudes,  Count  of  Paris,  and  his  brother  Robert,  distinguished  them- 
selves ;  both  sons  of  the  famous  Robert  the  Strong,  killed  twenty 
years  previously  while  fighting  the  same  enemies.  Their  valor 
and  the  heroic  efforts  of  Goslin,  Bishop  of  Paris,  insured  the  safety 
of  the  city,  while  Charles  the  Fat,  at  the  head  of  an  army  assembled 
to  save  his  people,  made  a  cowardly  composition  with  the  foreigners, 
and  allowed  them  to  pillage  his  richest  provinces.  A  cry  of  indig- 
nation was  raised  against  him  on  all  sides.  He  was  deposed  at 
the  diet  of  Tribur  in  888,  and  died  the  same  year  in  indigence, 
deserted  by  all  his  friends. 

A  definite  partition,  which  irrevocably  completed  the  dismem- 
berment of  the  empire,  took  place  on  the  death  of  Charles  the  Fat. 
Italy  became  a  separate  kingdom  :  all  the  country  comprised  between 
the  Fancelle  Mountains  (a  transverse  chain  of  the  Vosges),  the 
sources  of  the  Rhine,  and  the  Pennine  Alps  formed,  under  the 
name  of  upper  Trans juran  Burgundy,  a  new  kingdom,  of  which 
Rodolph  was  the  founder.  Prior  to  this,  Boso,  brother-in-law  of 
Charles  the  Bald,  had  assumed  the  title  of  King  of  Provence,  or 
Cisjuran  Burgundy.  This  kingdom  had  as  its  limits  the  Jura,  the 
Alps,  the  Mediterranean,  the  Saone,  and  the  Cevennes.  Lotharin- 
gia,  or  Lorraine,  was  restricted  between  the  Fancelle  Mountains, 
the  Scheldt,  the  Rhine  and  the  German  Ocean.  Aquitaine  extended 
to  the  Pyrenees,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  territory  enclosed 
between  these  divers  states  and  Brittany  henceforth  retained  the 
name  of  France.  From  this  last  dismemberment  of  the  empire  of 
the  Franks  dates  the  historic  existence  of  the  French  nation.  On 
the  deposition  of  Charles  the  Fat,  Charles,  the  third  son  of  Louis 
the  Stammerer,  being  still  considered  too  young  to  be  called  to 
the  throne,  Eudcs,  Count  of  Paris,  already  celebrated  by  his 
defense  of  Paris  against  the  Normans,  was  elected  king  by  the 
nobles. 

Eudes  was  always  in  arms,  either  against  the  lords  of 
Aquitaine,  who  tried  to  render  themselves  independent,  or  against 
Charles,  his  youthful  rival,  who  was  supported  by  Arnulf,  King  of 
Germany.  Eudes  eventually  ceded  to  him  several  provinces,  and 
was  about  to  recognize  him  as  his  successor  when  he  died  in  898. 
Charles  III.,  who  was  surnamed  the  Simple  from  his  incapacity, 


54-  FRANCE 

893-933 

was  then  proclaimed  King-  of  France.  The  most  celebrated  act  of 
his  reign  was  the  cession  made  in  912  of  the  territory  afterwards 
called  Normandy,  to  a  formidable  Norman  chief,  who  is  celebrated 
in  history  by  the  name  of  Rollo,  and  was  the  first  Duke  of  Nor- 
mandy. He  paid  homage  to  the  king,  was  converted  to  Chris- 
tianity, and  divided  his  vast  territory  into  fiefs.  His  warriors, 
whom  he  kept  down  by  severe  laws,  became  the  fathers  of  a  great 
people  which  was  the  firmest  bulwark  of  France  against  the  inva- 
sions of  the  northern  races.  Numerous  revolts  troubled  the  end  of 
his  reign,  Robert,  Duke  of  France,  the  brother  of  the  late  King 
Eudes,  repenting  that  he  had  not  disputed  the  inheritance  of  his 
brother  with  Charles  the  Simple,  decreed  the  king's  deposition, 
with  the  nobles  of  the  land :  and  having  assured  himself  of  the  sup- 
port of  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  Henry  the  Fowler,  he  entered 
Soissons  with  a  band  of  conspirators,  penetrated  to  the  king's  apart- 
ments, and  made  him  a  prisoner.  He  was  rescued  almost  imme- 
diately by  Herve,  Archbishop  of  Rheims,  and  after  a  short  stay 
in  that  city  he  retreated  to  Tongres,  in  Lorraine.  But  his  reign 
was  at  an  end;  his  deposition  was  pronounced  by  the  nobles  at  an 
assembly  held  at  Soissons  in  920,  and  Robert  was  elected  king,  and 
consecrated  at  the  church  of  St.  Remi,  in  Rheims  (922),  Charles 
called  his  partisans  around  him  and  his  army  encountered  that  of 
Robert  in  Ch.ampagne.  Here  a  sanguinary  action  was  fought,  in 
which  King  Ixobcrt  was  killed.  Charles,  however,  did  not  take 
ruK'antagc  of  this  circumstance  to  secure  the  crown,  and  not  dar- 
ing to  [)lace  trust  in  his  subjects,  he  returned  with  his  army  to  Lor- 
raine. 

Robert,  Duke  of  France,  was  succeeded  in  his  dukedom  by  his 
son,  the  celebrated  Hugh  the  Great,  or  the  White.  This  powerful 
lord  had  the  deposition  of  Charles  the  Simple  confirmed,  and 
decreed  the  crown  to  his  l)rother-in-law,  Raoul,  or  Rodolph,  Duke 
of  Burgundy,  who  accepted  the  crown  against  his  wish.  Charles 
the  Simple  was  then  drawn  into  a  snare  by  Herbert,  Count  of 
Vermandois,  who  seized  him  and  retained  him  a  prisoner  at 
I'eronne.  ivodolph,  elected  in  923.  reigned  for  eleven  years,  restored 
Charles  tlie  Simple  to  liberty,  and  assigned  to  him  the  royal  resi- 
dences of  Attigny  and  Ronthieu.  Charles  the  Simple  languished 
for  some  time,  and  died  in  929,  crushed  by  sorrow  and  illness.  The 
close  of  Ivodolph's  reign  was  troubled  by  a  bloody  war,  which  Flugh 
the  W  liite,  Duke  of  I'rance,  waged  against  the  Count  of  Verman- 


CHARLEMAGNE  55 

933-940 

dois  and  the  Duke  of  Lorraine.  The  King  of  France,  suzerain  of 
Hugh,  and  the  Emperor  Henry  the  Fowler,  suzerain  of  the  Duke 
of  Lorraine,  were  drawn  into  this  war,  and  appeared  more  Hke 
allies  of  their  vassals  than  as  sovereigns. 

Germany  and  Gaul  were  a  prey  to  frightful  calamities,  and 
foreign  invasion  added  its  scourge  to  those  of  intestine  dissensions. 
The  Hungarians,  vanquished  in  933  hy  Henry  the  Fowler  in  the 
celebrated  battle  of  Merseburg,  returned  two  years  later,  crossed 
Germany,  and  penetrated  into  Burgundy.  King  Rodolph  marched 
to  meet  them.  At  the  rumor  of  his  approach  the  Hungarians 
evacuated  Burgundy  and  fell  back  on  Italy.  Rodolph  died  the  fol- 
lowing year.  He  left  no  sons.  No  member  of  his  family  suc- 
ceeded him  on  the  throne,  and  his  duchy  of  Burgundy,  the  real 
seat  of  his  power,  did  not  pass  in  its  entirety  to  his  natural  heirs. 
Hugh  the  Black,  his  brother,  only  obtained  a  part  of  it ;  his  brother- 
in-law,  Hugh  the  Great,  Count  of  Paris  and  Duke  of  France,  took 
advantage  of  a  civil  war  to  seize  the  larger  portion  of  it.  Louis, 
son  of  Charles  the  Simple,  was  placed  on  the  throne  of  France 
after  the  death  of  Rodolph.  This  young  prince,  who  was  sixteen 
years  of  age,  was  living  at  the  time  in  England  privately  with  his 
mother,  the  sister  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  king,  Athelstane,  and  he 
owed  to  this  circumstance  the  surname  of  Louis  d'Outre  Mer,  or 
from  across  the  sea.  Hugh  gave  him  the  crown  by  agreement 
with  William  Longsword,  second  Duke  of  Normandy,  and  with 
the  lords  of  old  Neustria  and  Aquitaine.  A  solemn  embassy  con- 
veyed their  wishes  to  the  court  of  the  king  his  master,  inviting 
him  to  come  and  reign  in  France.  Louis  accepted  the  crown,  and 
was  consecrated  at  Rheims  in  the  year  936,  at  the  same  period 
when  Otto  the  Great,  of  the  House  of  Saxony,  succeeded  Henry 
the  Fowler,  his  father,  on  the  imperial  throne  of  Germany. 

The  royal  domain  was  at  this  period  limited  to  the  county  of 
Laon.  There  alone  Louis  IV.  reigned  de  facto  as  well  as  nomi- 
nally; everywhere  else  in  Gaul  the  dukes  and  counts  were  more 
sovereign  than  the  king.  Hugh  the  Great,  while  doing  him  hom- 
age, did  not  intend  to  free  him  from  his  guardianship.  The  young 
monarch  himself  claimed  his  independence.  He  had  the  soul  of  a 
king,  but  had  not  the  power,  and  his  reign  was  a  stormy  and  per- 
petual struggle.  A  formidable  invasion  of  the  Hungarians  marked 
its  opening,  and  this  scourge  suspended  for  a  time  the  rupture  on 
the  point  of  breaking  out  between  Louis  and  his  powerful  vassal. 


56  1  RANGE 

940-943 

Hugh,  seeing  the  king  was  trying  to  escape  from  his  influence, 
made  a  close  league  with  William,  Duke  of  the  Normans,  Arnulf, 
Count  of  Flanders,  and  the  same  Herbert,  Count  of  Vermandois, 
wlio  had  for  so  long  a  period  kept  Charles  the  Simple  prisoner. 
The  Lorrainers,  at  this  period,  had  revolted  against  the  Emperor 
Otto  tlie  Great,  King  of  Germany,  their  suzerain,  and  transferred 
their  homage  to  Louis  d'Outre-Mer,  who  accepted  it.  A  war  broke 
out  between  the  two  kings;  and  in  this  struggle  the  confederate 
nobles,  vassals  of  Louis,  allied  themselves  against  him  wnth  the 
king  of  Germany,  whom  they  proclaimed  king  of  the  Gauls  at 
Attigny.  Otto  did  not  retain  this  title,  but  he  recovered  Lorraine 
and  made  peace  with  Louis,  the  husband  of  his  sister  Gerberge, 
who  eventually  employed  her  influence  with  success  to  maintain 
friendly  terms  between  her  husband  and  brother.  The  struggle 
of  Louis  against  the  rebel  lords  was  prolonged  for  two  years  more, 
and  was  ended  by  the  intervention  of  Pope  Agapetus  and  the 
Emperor  Otto.  The  latter  brought  about  a  reconciliation  between 
Hugh  the  Great  and  the  king. 

In  these  barbarous  times  the  violence  of  the  nobles  did  not 
stop  at  assassination,  and  the  law  was  impotent  against  the  abuses 
of  brute  force.  The  prince  who,  next  to  Hugh  the  Great,  was  the 
most  formidable  vassal  of  the  crown,  William  Longsword,  Duke 
of  Normandy,  was  murdered  by  the  emissaries  of  Arnulf,  Count 
of  Flanders:  the  murderers,  however,  whom  the  royal  justice 
could  not  reach,  remained  unpunished.  The  Normans  recognized 
as  William's  successor  a  natural  son  of  that  prince,  the  youthful 
Richard,  ten  years  oi  age,  who  was  afterwards  surnamed  the  Fear- 
less. Louis  hastened  to  confirm  him  in  the  honors  and  privileges 
of  the  ducal  rank,  and  then,  having  obtained  possession  of  his  per- 
son, agreed  with  Hugh  the  Great  to  take  possession  of  Normandy 
and  divide  it  between  them.  Their  plans  were  foiled  by  Osmond, 
governor  of  the  prince,  who  managed  to  escape  the  vigilance  of  his 
keepers  and  conveyed  Richard  to  the  castle  of  Coucy,  where  he 
placed  the  prince  in  safety.  Louis,  when  he  found  Richard  was  at 
liberty,  openly  rencumced  the  idea  of  despoiling  him,  and  Hugh, 
having  notliing  further  to  hope  from  the  king's  alliance,  became 
his  enemy  again.  Louis,  in  his  turn,  became  the  victim  of  a  trick 
on  the  part  of  the  Normans.  Receiving  an  invitation  from  them, 
he  proceeded  to  Rouen,  and  the  reception  they  gave  him  completely 
deceived   him.     Soon   after  his  arrival   Harold,   the  governor   of 


C  H  A  R  L  E  M  A  G  N  E  67 

9-!3-954 

Bayeux,  requested  a  conference  of  Louis,  who  went  to  meet  him 
at  the  ford  of  Herluin.  Here  an  armed  band  suddenly  fell  on  the 
royal  escort,  and  put  it  to  flight.  The  king's  squire  was  killed  in 
defending  him,  and  Louis,  carried  across  country  by  a  swift  horse, 
reentered  the  walls  of  Rouen  alone.  The  inhabitants,  who  were 
accomplices  in  Harold's  perfidy,  seized  the  king's  person,  and  made 
him  a  prisoner.  The  Count  of  Paris  pretended  to  take  an  interest 
in  the  fate  of  the  captive  monarch.  He  interfered  in  his  favor,  and 
the  king  was  delivered  over  by  the  Normans  into  his  hands.  Hugh, 
having  the  king  in  his  power,  kept  him  captive,  and  forced  him  to 
surrender  Laon,  his  finest  city,  as  his  ransom. 

Delivered,  at  this  price,  Louis,  in  his  distress,  implored  and 
obtained  the  assistance  of  his  brother-in-law,  the  Emperor  Otto 
of  Germany,  and  with  his  assistance  he  invested  the  city  of  Laon, 
and  seized  it  by  surprise.  A  council,  at  which  appeared  the  kings 
of  France  and  Germany,  assembled  at  Ingelheim,  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  imperial  armies,  the  principal  object  of  the  meeting 
being  to  suspend  the  hostilities  of  Count  Hugh  against  the  king. 
The  council  prohibited  Hugh  frnm  henceforth  taking  up  arms 
against  Louis,  and  the  count,  refusing  to  obey,  was  excommu- 
nicated. 

The  anathema  of  the  church,  far  from  disarming  tliis  powerful 
vassal,  rendered  him  more  violent  and  formidable.  Joining  the 
Normans,  he  ravaged  the  lands  of  King  Louis,  who,  finding  himself 
unable  to  contend  against  his  powerful  foe,  applied  to  the  Pope, 
King  Otto,  and  the  bishops,  to  effect  a  reconciliation  between  him 
and  Hugh.  They  obtained  the  signature  of  a  truce.  Plugh  once 
again  recognized  the  royal  authority,  and  swore  fidelit3^  Louis 
d'Outre-Mer  did  not  long  enjoy  the  repose  which  this  peace  seemed 
to  promise  him.  He  saw  several  parts  of  France  again  ravaged 
by  the  Hungarians,  and  survived  the  invasion  of  these  barbarians 
but  a  short  time.  While  proceeding  from  Laon  to  Rheims,  a  wolf 
crossed  his  road.  The  king  dashed  in  pursuit,  but  his  horse  fell, 
and  he  was  mortally  wounded.  He  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-three, 
in  September,  954,  esteemed  for  his  valor  and  talents,  which,  under 
other  circumstances,  would  have  sufficed  to  keep  the  crown  on  his 
head. 

Louis  IV.  left  two  sons,  of  youthful  years,  Lothaire  and 
Charles.  Their  motlicr,  Gerberge,  aware  that  without  the  assist- 
ance of  the  Count  of  J'aris  the  throne  would  slip  from  her  family, 


58  FRANCE 

954-973 

asked  his  support,  and  Lothaire  was  proclaimed  king  at  Rheims  at 
the  close  of  954,  under  the  protection  of  Hugh  the  Great.  In  return 
for  this  service  Hugh  was  invested  with  the  duchy  of  Aquitaine, 
to  the  prejudice  of  the  orphan  children  of  Raymond  Pons,  Count 
of  Toulouse,  who  were  thus  despoiled  of  their  father's  heritage. 
Hugh  at  once  led  an  army  into  Aquitaine,  and  after  an  unsuccessful 
expedition  he  was  preparing  a  second,  when  death  surprised  him  at 
the  castle  of  Dourdon,  on  the  Orge,  956.  Hugh  the  Great  left 
the  duchy  of  France  and  the  county  of  Paris  to  his  son  Hugh,  who 
was  afterwards  named  Capet.  Henry,  his  second  son,  inherited 
the  duchy  of  Burgundy.  Both  were  children  at  their  father's 
death.  Hugh,  the  elder,  was  hardly  ten  years  of  age.  Their 
mother  Hedwig,  and  Queen  Gerberge,  mother  and  guardian  of  the 
young  King  Lothaire,  were  sisters;  their  brother  was  Otto  I.,  King 
of  Germany,  and  they  placed  their  children  under  his  protection. 
This  great  monarch  died  in  973.  His  successor  was  his  son,  Otto 
n.,  and  his  death  was  followed  by  sanguinary  disorders  in  several 
countries  which  he  had  kept  in  peace  or  subjection  by  the  terror  of 
his  arms  and  name. 

The  bonds  of  blood  and  gratitude  attached  Lothaire  and  Hugh 
Capet  to  the  son  of  the  great  man  who  had  protected  their  youth, 
and  both  formed  fresh  bonds  with  his  family  by  each  marrying  one 
of  his  sisters.  Still  the  peace  between  the  two  kings  was  of  short 
duration,  A  dispute  broke  out  on  the  subject  of  Belgian  Gaul  or 
lower  Lorraine,  to  which  country  both  asserted  a  claim.  Lorraine, 
divided  by  Otto  the  Great  into  upper  and  lower  Lorraine,  and 
annexed  to  the  German  crown  by  his  predecessor,  Henry  the 
Fowler,  about  923,  had  since  been  considered  a  province  of  the 
empire. 

Charles,  brother  of  King  Lothaire,  had  inherited  a  few 
fiefs  from  his  mother,  and  after  the  death  of  Otto  the  Great  he 
claimed  them  witli  arms  in  hand.  Otto  II.,  who  was  troubled  on 
his  other  frontiers,  offered  Charles  the  duchy  of  lower  Lorraine,  to 
be  held  by  him  as  a  fief  of  the  Germanic  crown.  Charles  accepted 
it,  and  Otto  believed  tliat  he  had  satisfied  Lothaire  by  this  conces- 
sion ;  but  the  latter  on  learning,  the  following  year,  that  the  emperor 
was  unsuspectingly  residing  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  formed  the  plan  of 
surprising  him  there,  and  an  expedition  was  unanimously  decided 
on  against  him.  Tlie  army,  immediately  assembled,  was  marched 
upon  the  Meuse,  and  King  Otto  was  all  but  surprised  in  his  capital. 


CHARLEMAGNE  59 

973-987 

Lothaire's  soldiers  occupied  the  city  and  palace,  but  here  his  success 
stopped,  and  he  led  back  his  army  without  obtaining  any  serious 
advantage.  Otto  II.  took  revenge  for  his  disgrace.  He  invaded 
Gaul  at  the  head  of  a  formidable  army  of  Germans,  and,  ravaging 
the  whole  country  on  his  passage,  advanced  up  to  the  gates  of 
Paris;  but  despairing  of  entering  tlie  city,  and  not  daring  to  remain 
among  a  hostile  population,  he  returned  to  his  states.  His  retreat, 
which  was  disturbed  by  Lothaire  and  Hugh,  was  as  precipitate  as 
his  attack  had  been. 

Lothaire,  who  understood,  however,  that  it  would  be  safer  for 
him  to  be  on  good  terms  with  the  King  of  Germany,  surrendered  to 
him  his  claims  on  Lorraine,  and  they  were  reconciled.  From  this 
moment  Hugh  Capet  and  Lothaire  became  enemies,  and  the  nations 
suffered  for  a  long  time  from  their  enmity.  At  length  recognizing 
their  impotence  to  destroy  each  other,  they  made  peace  and  were 
ostensibly  reconciled. 

Otto  11.  died  in  983,  at  Rome,  leaving  a  son  only  three  years 
of  age,  who  was  crowned  with  the  name  of  Otto  III.  Lothaire 
took  advantage  of  the  disorders  which  paralyzed  the  strength  of 
Germany  during  this  lad's  minority  to  assert  once  more  his  rights 
over  Lorraine.  He  led  an  army  into  that  country  and  besieged  and 
captured  Verdun.  On  returning  to  Laon  he  was  meditating  a  new 
expedition  into  Lorraine,  when  he  fell  ill  and  expired,  986,  in  the 
forty-fifth  year  of  his  life  and  the  thirty-third  of  his  reign. 

Louis  v.,  the  last  king  of  his  race,  merely  passed  over  the 
throne.  He  had  a  fall  at  Senlis,  the  consequences  of  which  were 
mortal,  and  he  expired  only  one  year  after  his  father's  death,  May 
22,  987,  and  was  buried  at  Compicgne.  The  nobles  of  the  king- 
dom, after  being  present  at  the  king's  funeral,  assembled  in  council 
to  elect  his  successor.  Louis  had  left  no  children,  but  his  uncle 
Charles,  Duke  of  Lower  Lorraine,  was  his  next  heir,  and  put  for- 
ward his  claim  to  the  crown.  The  bishops  and  nobles  of  France, 
however,  were  not  disposed  to  place  at  their  head  a  prince  who, 
although  he  was  of  the  blood  royal,  was  an  acknowledged  vassal  of 
the  Emperor  of  Germany  and  witb.out  any  influence  whatever  in 
the  country;  so  their  choice  fell  on  the  powerful  Hugh  Capet.  His 
brother  was  Duke  of  Burgundy  and  the  Duke  of  Normandy  was 
his  brother-in-law.  In  all  ways  he  was  the  most  central  of  the 
great  nobles  of  France.  On  June  i,  987,  he  was  solemnly  crowned 
at  Noyon  by  Adalberon,  Bishop  of  Laon,  and  unanimously  recog- 


60  F  R  A  X  C  E 

nized  as  king  by  the  different  nations  of  Gaul.  This  new  order  of 
things,  which  received  the  name  of  feudahsm,  had  taken  deep  root 
during  the  past  century;  and,  despite  its  immense  abuses,  prevented 
the  utter  dissolution  of  every  social  tie  and  return  to  the  barbarism 
of  remote  periods. 

\\'ith  Louis  V.  ended  the  Carlovingian  dynasty.  France  had 
at  least  a  French  king,  although  he  ruled  over  but  a  little  fraction 
of  the  land.  Hugh  Capet  was  the  ancestor  of  all  the  kings  who 
have  since  sat  on  the  throne  of  France. 


PART  II 

FEUDAL  MONARCHY.  987-1642 


Chapter    IV 

FEUDAL   FRANCE.     987-1180 

THE  accession  of  Hugh  Capet  marked  the  beginning  of  a 
new  Hne  of  kings  and  of  the  domination  of  the  so-called 
feudal  system.  Under  the  previous  race,  the  lords  had 
rendered  the  cession  of  benefices  irrevocable,  and  made  them  hered- 
itary in  their  families.  Under  the  second  race,  the  kings  had  aban- 
doned to  the  dukes  and  counts  all  the  royal  rights  of  raising  troops, 
administering  justice,  coining  money,  making  peace  or  war,  and 
defending  themselves ;  and  from  the  moment  when  they  recog- 
nized, by  the  Edict  of  Kersy,  the  transmission  of  offices  to  the  next 
heir  as  legal,  the  dukes  and  counts  regarded  themselves  as  pos- 
sessors of  the  provinces  in  which  their  will  was  law.  While  de 
facto  independent  of  the  crown,  they  still  remained  subordinate  to 
it  by  the  bond  of  the  oath  of  fidelity.  They  distributed,  of  their 
own  free  Avill,  domains  among  the  nobles,  who  received  them  on 
faith  and  homage,  and  the  latter  granted  inferior  benefices  and 
fiefs  to  freemen  on  the  same  title.  Thus,  he  who  gave  a  terri- 
torial estate  in  fief  became  the  suzerain  of  him  who  received  it  on 
this  title,  and  the  latter  was  called  a  vassal,  or  liegeman.  The  land- 
holders were  thus  considered,  throughout  the  entire  extent  of  the 
kingdom  of  France,  as  subjects  or  vassals  to  each  other.  This  sys- 
tem, which  extended  to  the  provinces,  as  well  as  to  simple  private 
domains,  established  a  connecting  link  between  all  parts  of  the 
territory.  The  principal  obligations  contracted  by  the  vassal  under 
this  system  were  to  bear  arms  for  a  certain  number  of  days  on 
every  military  expedition ;  to  recognize  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
suzerain,  and  to  pay  the  feudal  aids — a  species  of  tax  raised  for  the 
ransom  of  the  lord,  if  he  were  made  prisoner,  or  on  the  occasion 
of  the  marriage  of  his  eldest  daughter,  or  when  his  son  was  made 
a  knight.  On  these  conditions  the  vassal  was  independent  on  his 
own  land,  and  enjoyed  the  same  rights,  and  was  bound  by  the  same 
duties  towards  his  own  vassals,  as  his  suzerain. 

It  was  generally  admitted  that  no  man  could  be  tried  save  by 

63 


64 


FRANCE 


987 


his  peers,  by  which  term  was  meant  vassals  of  the  same  rank.  The 
great  vassals  of  the  crown — the  dukes  of  Normandy,  Aquitaine, 
and  Burg-nndy,  and  the  counts  of  Flanders,  Toulouse,  and  Cham- 
pagne— were  nominated  peers  of  France;  and  to  these  six  lay 
peers  were  eventually  added  six  ecclesiastical  peers,  who  were  the 
archbishops  of  Rheims  and  Sens,  and  the  bishops  of  Noyon,  Beau- 
vais,  Chalons,  and  Langres.  \\dien  a  peer  of  France  was  sum- 
moned before  the  rest,  the  king  presided  at  the  trial.  All  these 
laws,  conventions,  and  usages  only  concerned  the  nobility;  the 
people  were  counted  as  notliing.     The  military  art  underwent  a 


HcTbonne?    MED  I  XERRi^-ME-A-N      9EA 


change,  and  the  cavalry  henceforth  became  the  strength  of  armies. 
Bodily  exercises,  ri<ling,  and  the  management  of  tlie  lance  and 
sword  were  tlie  sole  occupation  of  the  nobility.  This  first  period 
of  the  feudal  system  witnessed  the  rise  of  chivalry,  respect  for 
women,  and  modern  languages  and  poetry. 

The  clergy  soon  comprehended  that,  as  all  the  authority  was 
in  the  hands  of  the  possessors  of  the  fiefs,  they  must  themselves 
form  part  of  the  i:cw  organization.  They  therefore  did  homage 
for  tlie  church  domains,  and  then  divided  them  into  numerous  lots, 
wliich  they  converted  into  fiefs,  thus  obtaining  suzerains  and  vas- 
sals.    As  the  obligation  of  military  service  was  inseparable  from 


FEUDAL    FRANCE  65 

the  possession  of  fiefs,  the  clergy  were  siibjectecl  to  it,  hke  all  the 
other  vassals;  they  took  up  arms  at  the  summons  of  their  suzerains, 
and  constrained  their  liegemen  to  fight  for  them.  Wherever  the 
clergy  did  not  embrace  a  martial  life,  the  temporal  lord  obtained 
an  immense  advantage  over  them,  and  the  bishops  and  abbots 
often  found  it  necessary  to  place  themselves  under  the  protection 
of  a  noble  who  was  paid  to  defend  them.  The  clergy,  through 
these  feudal  organizations,  were  diverted  from  the  object  of  their 
institution,  the  people  more  rarely  obtained  consolation  and  suc- 
cor at  their  hands,  and  most  of  the  dignitaries  of  the  church  joined 
the  ranks  of  the  oppressors. 

An  immense  majority  of  the  people  lived  in  a  servile  condi- 
tion. The  freeman  had  to  a  great  extent  disappeared  under  the 
Carlovingians;  the  citizen  class  had  grown  weaker,  as  the  impor- 
tance of  the  cities  became  diminished ;  and  at  the  end  of  the  tenth 
century  there  was  no  middle  class  between  the  nobles  and  the 
serfs,  or  men  of  servitude,  attached  to  the  land  they  cultivated. 
They  were  bought  and  sold  with  the  land,  and  were  unable  to  leave 
it  of  their  own  accord.  They  possessed  nothing  of  their  own ; 
everything  belonged  to  the  lord;  and  if  they  were  guilty  of  any 
fault  in  his  sight,  they  could  not  invoke,  for  their  defense,  any 
law  or  authority,  for  the  right  of  seignorial  justice,  of  life  and 
death,  was  absolute. 

The  condition  of  the  freemen,  who  did  not  hold  fiefs,  and  lived 
on  seignorial  domains,  seems  to  have  been  equally  deplorable. 
Designated  as  villeins,  they  hardly  enjoyed  the  right  of  marrying 
whom  they  thought  proper,  or  of  disposing  of  their  property  as 
they  pleased.  They  were  gradually  crushed  by  intolerable  bur- 
dens, which  led  a  great  number  of  them  to  take  refuge  in  the  towns, 
where  equally  great  evils  followed  them.  Tho.  counts  exercised 
there  over  them  an  authority  equal  to  that  of  the  seigneurs  on  their 
lands;  the  tolls  and  dues  of  every  description  were  infinitely  multi- 
plied; they  were  obliged  to  keep  their  lord  and  his  people  when  he 
came  w-ithin  their  walls ;  in  short,  everything  they  possessed  could 
be  taken  by  main  force  from  the  inhabitants,  at  the  caprice  of 
the  master  or  his  followers,  without  payment  or  compensation  of 
any  kind. 

At  the  time  of  the  accession  of  the  third  race,  France,  pro- 
perly so  called,  only  comi)rised  the  territory  between  the  Somme 
and  the  Loire,  and  it  was  bounded  by  the  counties  of  Flanders 


G6  FRANCE 

987-998 

and  Vermandois  on  the  north,  by  Normandy  and  Brittany  on  the 
west,  by  the  Champagne  country  on  the  east,  by  the  duchy  of 
Aquitaine  on  the  south.  The  territory  within  these  bounds  was 
the  duchy  of  France,  the  patrimonial  possession  of  the  Capets, 
and  constituted  the  royal  domain.  The  great  fiefs  of  the  crown,  in 
addition  to  the  duchy  of  France,  were  the  duchy  of  Normandy, 
the  duchy  of  Burgundy,  nearly  the  whole  of  Flanders  formed  into 
a  county,  the  county  of  Champagne,  the  duchy  of  Aquitaine,  and 
the  county  of  Toulouse.  We  have  already  seen  that  the  sover- 
eigns of  these  various  states  were  the  great  vassals  of  the  crown. 
Peers  of  France,  Lorraine,  and  a  portion  of  Flanders  were  depend- 
ent on  the  Germanic  crown,  while  Brittany  was  a  fief  of  the  duchy 
of  Normandy. 

Hugh  Capet,  like  his  first  successors,  made  a  close  alliance 
with  the  church,  and  found  it  difficult  to  maintain  in  obedience 
the  nobles  who  had  raised  him  to  the  throne.  His  chief  wars  with 
his  contumacious  vassals  were  those  which  he  waged  against 
Adelbert,  Count  of  Perigord,  and  Eudes,  Count  of  Chartres.  Cruel 
wars  between  the  great  vassals  and  fearful  calamities  marked  the 
course  of  this  reign.  A  horrible  pestilence  ravaged  Aquitaine  and 
a  great  part  of  the  kingdom.  Hugh  died  in  his  bed,  after  a  reign 
of  nine  years.  He  is  only  illustrious  as  the  founder  of  a  new 
dynasty,  and  this  great  event  must  be  attributed  to  circumstances, 
far  more  than  to  his  genius.  He  caused  his  son  Robert  to  be 
crowned  in  his  lifetime. 

Rol^ert  seems,  through  his  rare  gentleness,  his  pious  zeal,  and 
his  indulgent  kindness,  to  belong  to  another  age.  His  fervent 
piety,  however,  did  not  protect  him  from  ecclesiastical  censures, 
or  from  the  most  violent  persecutions  of  the  court  of  Rome.  The 
Popes  constituted  themselves  sovereign  arbiters  of  cases  in  which 
marriage  was  permitted,  but,  by  an  abuse  of  their  authority,  they 
carried  the  prohibition  of  marriage  too  far  and  proved  terrible  to 
those  wlio  dared  to  violate  their  injunctions,  which  were  frequently 
arbitrary  and  unjust.  Excommunications  and  the  placing  a  ter- 
ritory under  an  interdict  were  among  the  means  most  frequently 
employed  by  the  I'ontitls  to  compel  the  submission  of  sovereigns. 
The  court  of  Rrmie  struck  at  its  enemies  with  these  redoubtable 
weapons,  not  dealing  less  vigorously  with  sovereigns  than  with 
subjects.  King  Rn])crt  experienced  this.  Hugh,  his  father,  dis- 
quieted by  the  Normans  established  at  Blois,  who  had  refused  to 


FEUDAL     F  R  A  N  C  E  67 

998-1032 

recognize  him,  gained  them  over  by  making  his  son  espouse  the 
celebrated  Bertha,  widow  of  Eudes  I.,  of  Blois.  Pope  Ciregory  V., 
aheging  a  degree  of  relationship  against  the  marriage,  ordered 
Robert  to  leave  his  wife,  and,  on  his  refusal,  excommunicated 
him.  Robert,  compelled  at  length  to  repudiate  her,  espoused  the 
imperious  Constance,  daughter  of  the  Count  of  Toulouse.  She 
reigned  in  his  name,  having  his  authority,  and  caused  the  king's 
favorite,  Hugh  of  Beauvais,  to  be  murdered  in  his  presence. 

Victims  of  the  perpetual  discords  of  the  nobles,  the  people  saw 
their  crops  destroyed  and  cottages  burned;  there  was  for  them 
neither  rest  nor  security.  The  inhabitants  of  the  towns  were 
already  beginning  to  endure  with  reluctance  the  vexatious  tyranny 
of  their  lords  and  to  regard  with  some  degree  of  irritation  their 
precarious  condition.  The  cities  which  had  preserved  municipal 
institutions  invoked  old  and  neglected  rights,  and  in  others  cor- 
porations were  formed.  The  workmen  organized  a  militia,  forti- 
fied their  walls,  and  guarded  the  gates.  Acts  of  great  injustice 
caused  resentment,  wdiich  had  been  too  long  repressed,  to  break 
out,  and  commotions,  which  were  scarcely  recognized,  presaged 
the  revolutions  wdiich  in  the  following  century  brought  the  en- 
franchisements of  the  towns.  The  inexhaustible  charity  of  Robert 
only  afforded  an  almost  imperceptible  relief  for  the  misfortunes 
of  his  people,  not  rich  enough  to  remove  their  wretchedness,  and 
too  weak  to  put  down  their  oppressors.  He  died  in  1031,  lamented 
by  the  wretched  and  regretted  by  the  clergy,  leaving  his  kingdom 
augmented  by  the  duchy  of  Burgundy,  which  he  had  united  to  it 
in  1002,  on  the  death  of  his  uncle,  Henry  the  Great. 

Henry  I.,  the  son  and  successor  of  Robert,  had,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  his  reign,  to  sustain  a  family  war  against  his  mother, 
Constance,  who  raised  his  young  brother  to  the  throne.  The 
church  declared  for  Henry,  and  tlie  celebrated  Robert  the  Alagnih- 
cent,  Duke  of  the  Normans,  lent  him  the  aid  of  his  sword,  and 
settled  the  crown  more  firmly  on  his  head.  Henry  vanquished  his 
brother,  forgave  him,  and  granted  him  the  duchy  of  Burgundy,  tlie 
first  Capetian  house  of  which  was  founded  by  Robert.  A  famine, 
during  his  reign,  committed  fearful  ravages  in  Gaul.  After  this 
plague  troops  of  wolves  devastated  the  country,  and  the  feudal 
lords,  more  terrible  than  the  wild  beasts,  continued  their  bar- 
barous wars  amid  the  universal  desolation,  the  clergy  scarce  able 
to   induce  them  to   suspend  their  fury  by  threatening  the  judg- 


68  FRANC  E 

1032-1066 

ments  of  heaven,  and  by  asserting  a  multitude  of  miracles.  At 
length,  the  councils  of  the  church  ordered  all  to  lay  down  their 
arms.  Thev  published,  early  in  the  eleventh  century,  the  "  Peace  of 
God,'"  and  menaced  with  excommunication  those  who  violated  so 
holy  a  law. 

But  passions  were  too  impetuous,  ambitions  too  indomitable, 
for  the  evil  to  be  thus  totally  uprooted.  The  "  Peace  of  God  " 
multiplied  the  sacrilege  without  diminishing  the  number  of  assas- 
sinations. A  few  years  later  another  law,  known  as  the  "  Truce 
of  God  "  was  added  to  it.  An  appeal  to  force  was  no  longer  pro- 
hibited to  those  who  could  invoke  no  other  law,  but  from  sunset  on 
Wednesday  until  sunrise  on  Monday,  as  well  as  on  festival  and 
fast  days,  military  attack  and  the  effusion  of  blood  were  prohib- 
ited. This  wise  and  beneficent  law,  although  it  was  frequently 
violated,  was  a  great  benefit  to  the  nation,  whose  manners  it  soft- 
ened, and  was  the  noblest  work  of  the  clergy  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

Henry  I.  chose  as  his  third  wife  the  Princess  Anne,  daughter 
of  Jaroslav,  Grand  Duke  of  Russia.  He  had  three  sons  by  this 
marriage,  the  eldest  of  whom,  Philip,  he  caused  to  be  crowned 
during  his  life.  He  carried  on  an  unsuccessful  war  against  his 
vassal,  William  the  Bastard,  Duke  of  Normandy,  and  died  in  1060, 
after  a  reign  of  twenty-nine  years. 

Philip,  at  the  age  of  eight  years,  succeeded  his  father  under 
the  guardianship  of  Baldwin  V..  Count  of  Flanders.  The  great 
event  of  his  reign,  and  with  which  he  was  entirely  unconnected, 
was  the  conciuest  of  England.  During  the  reign  of  Edward  the 
Confessor,  Harold,  the  son  of  Earl  Godwin,  had  been  shipwrecked 
on  the  coast  of  Normandy,  and  while  master  of  Harold's  person 
Duke  William  made  him  swear  that  he  would  help  him,  after  the 
death  of  Edward,  to  obtain  the  kingdom  of  England.  Harold, 
however,  did  not  consider  himself  bound  by  an  oath  which  had 
been  extorted  by  violence,  and,  on  the  death  of  Edward  the  Con- 
fessor, ascended  the  throne  in  accordance  with  the  wish  of  the 
nobles  and  people.  On  this,  William  invaded  England  to  estab- 
lish his  claim  to  tlie  crown  by  force  of  arms,  and  a  great  battle, 
fought  in  T066  near  Hastings,  between  the  rival  claimants  of  the 
English  crown,  decided  the  war.  Harold  lost  his  life  in  it,  and 
England,  after  an  ol)Stinate  contest,  became  a  conquest  of  the 
Xormans.  Wilham  distributed  the  confiscated  estates  as  fiefs  to 
his  knights,  and  from  this  time  feudalism  spread  over  that  country 


F  E  U  D  A  L     F  R  A  N  C  E  69 

1053-1095 

the  network  with  which  it  already  covered  France,  Germany,  aiul 
Italy. 

A  reyolution,  of  which  tlie  celebrated  Hildebrand  was  the 
principal  author,  was  at  this  time  accomplished  in  the  church. 
This  monk,  so  celebrated  in  relig-ious  history,  was  resolyed  to  de- 
prive the  feudal  lords  of  every  species  of  induence  over  tlie  clers^y, 
to  strengthen  the  ecclesiastical  hierarchy  and  to  raise  the  Pope 
above  the  kings  of  the  earth,  hoping  thus  to  enable  the  church  to 
recover  her  efficiency,  her  splendor  and  all  her  power.  Hildebrand 
was  chosen  in  1073  by  the  people  and  clergy  of  Rome  as  the  suc- 
cessor of  Pope  Alexander  III.  At  first  he  deferentially  asked  his 
confirmation  of  the  Emperor  Henry  IV..  and  when  he  had  obtained 
it  he  displayed  under  the  name  of  Gregory  VII.  his  vast  and 
haughty  genius  and  his  inflexible  character.  The  nomination  of 
the  Popes  had  already  been  withdrawn  from  the  influence  of  the 
emperor  and  intrusted  to  the  college  of  cardinals.  Gregory 
renewed  the  bull  condemning  the  marriage  of  priests;  he  prohibited 
emperors,  kings,  and  the  great  vassals  from  giving  ecclesiastical 
investiture  to  bishops. 

Philip  I.,  King  of  France,  and  Henry  IV..  Emperor  of  Ger- 
many, w-ere  both  leading  at  this  time  a  life  full  oi  scandal  and 
violence;  and  in  order  to  supply  their  unljoundcd  extravagance 
they  carried  on.  in  defiance  of  Gregory's  jirohibition,  the  most 
disgracefifl  traffic  in  church  endowments.  The  indignant  Pontiff 
threatened  Philip  with  excommunication,  and  laid  it  upon  the 
emperor.  An  obstinate  war  l)egan  between  them,  which  is  known 
in  history  by  the  name  of  "  Tlie  War  of  Investitures,"  because 
the  Pope  maintained  by  it  his  prohibition  of  princes  investing 
bishops,  and  reserved  that  right  solely  for  himself.  Gregor}'  VII. 
liberated  the  subjects  of  Henry  from  the  oath  of  allegiance:  and 
the  emperor,  abandoned  by  them,  found  himself  reduced  to  im- 
plore pardon  and  absolution,  which  the  Pope  granted,  after  com- 
pelling the  emperor  to  remain  for  three  days  and  nights  before 
the  castle  of  Canossa,  exposed  to  the  severe  cold,  with  his  !)are 
feet  in  the  snow.  Flenry  IV.  avenged  himself,  and  Gregor}^  VII. 
died  in  exile. 

The  colossal  edifice  raised  by  this  Pontiff  did  not  perish  with 
him;  he  had  founded  the  universal  monarchy  of  the  Popes  on  a 
durable  basis,  on  the  ruling  spirit  of  his  age,  and  this  supremacy 
attained,  one  hundred  years  afterwards,  its  culminating  point.    The 


70  FRANCE 

1095-1097 

crusades  contributed  greatly  to  its  consolidation.  The  first  of 
those  memorable  events  had  its  origin  in  the  time  of  Philip  I.,  and 
under  the  Pontificate  of  Urban  II.  In  1095  a  council,  convoked 
by  Urban,  assembled  at  Clermont,  in  Auvergne.  A  prodigious 
numljer  of  princes  and  nobles  of  all  ranks  flocked  thither,  and 
three  hundred  and  ten  bishops  supported  the  solemnity,  under  the 
presidency  of  the  Pope  himself.  After  having  decided  clerical 
affairs.  Urban  drew  a  pathetic  picture  of  the  desolation  of  the 
h(;ly  shrines,  lamenting  bitterly  the  afflictions  suffered  by  the 
Christians  of  Palestine.  His  hearers,  deeply  moved  by  the  ear- 
nest and  heart-stirring  appeal  of  the  Pontiff,  quivered  with  indig- 
nation, and  impatiently  desired  to  arm  at  once — at  once  to  depart. 
"Let  us  go,"  said  the  whole  assembly;  "it  is  the  will  of  God! 
It  is  the  will  of  God !  " 

All  who  pledged  themselves  to  the  enterprise — and  such  was 
the  general  enthusiasm  that  there  were  few  who  did  not — as- 
sumed a  common  distinctive  sign,  a  cross  of  red  cloth  worn  on  the 
riglit  shoulder,  and  from  this  was  derived  the  word  "  Crusade." 

The  crusaders,  as  all  were  now  termed  who,  by  taking  the 
cross,  had  vowed  to  make  the  sacred  journey,  separated  to  pre- 
pare for  departure  and  to  communicate  to  all  their  pious  ardor. 
The  general  meeting  of  the  ardent  host  was  fixed  for  the  spring 
of  the  following  year;  but  such  was  the  impatience  exhibited  that, 
before  any  duly  organized  plan  of  procedure  was  formed,  an  im- 
mense number  of  serfs,  peasants,  homeless  wanderers,  and  even 
women  and  children  set  out  for  Palestine,  divided  into  two  bands, 
led,  the  one  by  Peter  the  Hermit,  the  other  by  a  knight  named 
"  Walter  the  Penniless."  They  devastated  for  their  support  the 
countries  which  they  passed  through,  raising  up  in  arms  against 
themselves  the  outraged  populations.  Many  perished  on  the  march 
to  Constantinople;  the  remnant  was  slain  by  the  Turks  in  Asia 
Minor. 

The  first  regular  expedition  for  the  recovery  of  Palestine  con- 
sisted of  three  formidable  armies,  commanded  by  Robert  of  Nor- 
mandy, son  of  William  the  Conqueror,  Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  the 
hero  of  bis  age,  and  the  Count  of  Toulouse,  Raymond  of  Saint- 
Gillcs.  Godfrey  was  proclaimed  commander-in-chief.  The  gen- 
eral muster  was  at  Constantinople,  where  reigned  Alexis  Com- 
ncnus.  I'liis  emperor  received  them  with  discourtesy,  and  has- 
tendcd  to  give  thcin  vessels  to  cross  the  Bosphorus,  after  having 


F  E  U  D  A  L     F  R  A  N  C  E  71 

1097-1108 

cunning-ly  obtained  from  them  the  oatli  of  homaj^e  for  their  future 
conquests.  The  crusaders,  after  sanguinary  struggles,  achieved 
the  conquest  of  Jerusalem,  and  in  1099  a  Christian  kingdom  was 
founded  in  Palestine.  Godfrey  de  Bouillon  was  its  recognized 
king,  but  contented  himself  with  the  title  of  the  "  Baron  of  the 
Holy  Sepulchre."  The  name  of  Franks  became  in  Asia  an  appel- 
lation common  to  all  eastern  Christians.  Such  were  the  principal 
facts  of  that  first  and  celebrated  crusade.  There  only  returned 
to  Europe  one-tenth  of  the  number  that  left  it. 

Philip  I.  did  not  associate  himself  with  that  expedition.  He 
took  no  part  in  the  great  enterprises  which  signalized  the  age  in 
wdiich  he  lived,  and  his  reign  offers  nothing  worthy  of  record.  He 
espoused  the  cause  of  Robert,  the  eldest  son  of  William  tlie  Con- 
queror, in  rebellion  against  his  father,  and  carried  on  a  war  for 
twelve  years  against  William,  which  was  not  marked  by  any 
memorable  event.  This  war  was  brought  to  a  close  by  the  death 
of  the  Conquerer,  who  was  mortally  inju.red  by  a  fall  from  his 
horse  at  the  sack  of  Alantes.  Some  of  his  followers  carried  Will- 
iam in  a  dying  condition  to  Rouen,  wdiere  he  expired  in  1087. 

The  death  of  William  was  a  great  source  of  joy  to  Philip, 
and  allow-ed  him  to  continue  his  indolent  and  scandalous  career. 
He  had  married  Bertha,  the  daughter  of  Count  Florent  of  Hol- 
land. He  repudiated  and  imprisoned  her,  then  he  carried  off 
Bertrade,  the  wife  of  Foulque,  Count  of  Anjou.  and  marrierl  her. 
Pope  Urban  ordered  the  dissolution  of  this  marriage,  and  on  the 
refusal  of  Philip,  a  ccmncil,  assembled  at  Autun,  in  1094.  sen- 
tenced him  to  excommunication.  Philip  was  not  permitted  to 
wear  longer  the  outward  marks  of  royalty;  he  was  afthcted  with 
grievous  mfirmities,  in  which  he  recognized  tlie  hand  of  God.  At 
length,  in  the  year  iioo,  he  associated  his  son  Louis  with  himself 
in  the  kingdom  and  reigned  only  in  name.  A  dreadful  fear  of  hell 
seized  him;  he  renounced  through  humihty  the  regal  ])rivilege  oi 
being  interred  in  the  tomb  of  the  kings  at  St.  Denis,  and  died  in 
1 108  in  the  habit  of  a  Benedictine  friar. 

Louis  VL  was  the  first  knight  of  his  kingdom,  and  it  was 
wdth  casque  on  head  and  lance  in  rest  that  he  sought  and  won  the 
esteem  of  everyone.  His  personal  estates,  almost  confined  to  the 
cities  of  Paris,  Orleans,  Ftampes,  Melun.  Comi)icgne  and  their 
territories,  were  bordered  on  tlie  north  by  those  of  Robert.  Count 
of  Flanders,  and  on  the  east  by  the  estates  of  Hugh  L,  Covnit  (jf 


72  FRANCE 

1108-1137 

Champag-ne.  The  dominions  of  Thibaut,  Count  of  Meaux,  Char- 
tres  and  Blois,  and  those  of  Foulque  V.,  Count  of  Anjou,  and 
Touraine  closed  in  on  the  south  this  feeble  kingdom  of  France, 
which  the  vast  possessions  of  Henry  I.,  son  of  WilHam  the  Con- 
queror. King  of  England  and  Duke  of  Normandy,  confined  on  the 
west.  During  the  whole  of  his  life  Louis  had  to  contend  with  these 
powerful  enemies,  of  whom  the  most  formidable  was  Henry  I. 
In  his  struggle  with  this  monarch,  in  behalf  of  William  Clinton, 
the  son  of  Robert  of  Normandy,  dispossessed,  as  was  his  father, 
of  the  duchy  of  Normandy,  Louis  VL  was  vanquished  at  the  bat- 
tle of  Brenneville,  fought  in  1119.  On  this  he  appealed  to  the 
militia  of  the  cities  and  of  the  church,  and  these  ranged  themselves 
under  the  royal  standard,  and  entered  with  Louis  VI.  into  Nor- 
mandy, where  they  committed  great  ravages.  When  peace  was 
finally  made  it  was  agreed  that  Henry  should  remain  in  possession 
of  Normandy,  for  which  his  son  should  render  homage  to  the 
King  of  France. 

The  king  associated  his  elder  son  Philip  with  himself  in  the 
government.  This  young  prince,  who  gave  bright  promise,  was 
killed  accidentally,  and  the  king  substituted  for  him  his  second  son 
Louis,  surnamed  the  Young.  He  continued  without  success  his 
war  against  Henry  I.,  who  died  in  1135.  A  struggle  followed  for 
the  succession  to  that  prince's  crown  between  Stephen  of  Blois,  his 
nephew,  and  his  daughter  Matilda,  widow  of  the  Emperor  Henry 
V.  of  Germany,  and  married  a  second  time  to  Geoffrey  Plantag- 
enet,  Count  of  Anjou,  the  founder  of  the  celebrated  House  of  Plan- 
tagenet,  which  reigned  so  long  in  England.  William  X.,  Duke  of 
Aquitaine  and  Count  of  Poitou,  supported  Geoffrey,  and  with  him 
carried  fire  and  sword  through  Normandy,  but  returned  covered 
with  the  maledictions  of  the  people.  Overcome  by  remorse,  he 
undertook  a  pilgrimage  to  St.  James  of  Compostella,  in  Spain, 
and  offered  his  daughter  Eleanor  to  Louis,  son  of  the  King  of 
France.  This  alliance  promised  to  double  the  estates  of  the  king, 
who  hastened  to  conclude  it.  But  the  marriage  was  celebrated 
between  the  solemnization  of  two  funerals,  that  of  William  X., 
who  sank  on  his  pilgrimage,  and  that  of  Louis  the  Fat,  who  died 
the  same  year,   1 137. 

In  this  reign,  and  more  especially  after  the  battle  of  Brenne- 
ville, the  alliance  of  the  king  with  the  church  and  with  the  com- 
mons of  the  kingdom  becomes  apparent.     The  support  of  the  king 


FEUDALFRANCE  73 

1137-1149 

was  necessary  to  the  church  and  the  rising  !)Ourgeoisie,  to  enable 
them  to  resist-  the  oppression  of  the  feudal  nol^ility.  It  was  to  tlii> 
community  of  interests  that  the  kings  of  France  owed  in  a  great 
measure,  first,  the  preservation  of  their  crown,  and  subsccjuently 
their  influence  and  their  conquests.  But  Louis  YI.  in  hiis  con- 
duct towards  the  bourgeoisie  of  the  cities  was  in  no  way  actuated 
by  zeal  for  the  public  liberty.  He  cared  only  for  the  needs  of  his 
treasury,  which  was  replenished  by  the  payments  made  by  the 
cities  for  the  privileges  he  granted  to  them,  and  for  the  interests 
of  his  power,  wdiich  continued  to  increase  up  to  the  time  of  his 
death,  especially  in  the  center  of  France,  wliere  the  royal  authority 
had  before  him  been  almost  disregarded,  and  where  he  caused  it 
to  be  respected. 

Louis  VIL,  surnamed  the  Young,  exhibited  on  ascending  the 
throne  a  spirit  as  warlike  as  his  father's.  Lie  supported  Geoffrey 
Plantagenet  against  his  rival  Stephen,  and  aided  him  to  conquer 
Normandy,  for  which  Geoffrey  did  homage.  England  remained 
to  Stephen,  who  recognized  the  son  of  (Geoffrey  and  Alatikla  as 
heir  to  his  crown.  Louis  kept  the  barons  and  the  clergy  in  order: 
he  opposed  the  usurpations  of  Pope  Innocent  II.,  and  refused  to 
recognize  the  Archbishop  of  Bourges,  elected  by  that  Pontiff,  who 
laid  an  interdict  on  the  kingdom. 

The  most  memorable  event  of  this  reign  is  the  second  crusade, 
preached  with  Immense  success  by  Saint  Bernard,  Abbot  of  Clair- 
vaux,  and  commanded  by  the  king  in  person.  1lie  Turks  had 
taken  Edessa,  In  Palestine,  by  storm,  and  massacred  its  inliabitants, 
and  throughout  Christendom  arose  a  cry  for  \'engcance.  France 
was  the  first  to  be  convinced  by  the  voice  of  Saint  Bernard,  and 
communicated  the  movement  to  Europe.  Louis  YII.  took  up  the 
cross  and  went  forth  on  his  journey  at  the  head  of  seventy  tlirriisand 
French.  But  here  ended  his  reputation  as  king  and  knight.  He 
lost  half  of  his  own  forces  on  the  mountains  of  Laodicca,  and 
fruitlessly  undertook  many  enler])riscs,  each  of  which  was  marked 
by  a  disaster.  In  the  end.  the  whole  of  the  expedition  of  Louis 
VII.  was  reduced,  so  far  as  he  was  concerned,  to  a  pi(^us  pilgrim- 
age to  the  holy  sepulcher.  He  returned  to  Europe  with  the 
crusader  princes,  and  brought  back  with  him  only  a  few  soldiers. 
His  army  had  been  annihilated. 

Louis  found  his  kingdom  at  peace.  Indeed  almost  flourishing, 
thanks  to  the  wise  administration  of  Suger,  Abbot  of  Saint  Denis, 


74  FRANCE 

1149-1180 

whom  he  had  charged  with  the  regency  of  the  king-dom  in  his 
absence.  But  the  de-plorable  result  of  that  crusade,  for  which  he 
had  laid  a  heavy  tax  on  liis  people,  had  destroyed  all  the  king's 
popularity.  Under  pretext  of  too  near  blood  relationship,  he 
divorced  liis  fiueen.  Eleanor,  who,  thus  abandoned,  gave  her  hand 
to  Henry  Plantagenet,  heir  to  the  crown  of  England,  and  carried 
to  him  her  dowry  of  Aquitaine,  taken  away  from  France  by  this 
fatal  divorce.  Louis  saw  with  emotion  the  half  of  his  territories 
about  to  pass  to  his  rival,  and  sought  in  vain  to  throw  obstacles  in 
the  way  of  the  marriage.  The  new  husband  of  Eleanor  succeeded 
Stephen  on  the  throne  of  England  and  became  the  celebrated 
Henry  H.  He  possessed,  in  France,  Anjou.  Maine,  Touraine, 
Aquitaine,  and  Normandy.  He  professed  great  friendship  toward 
Louis  the  Young,  and  united  in  marriage  his  son,  seven  years 
of  age,  to  tlie  daughter  of  Louis,  still  in  her  cradle.  War  broke 
out  on  the  subject  of  the  dowry  of  this  princess,  but  the  contest 
was  ended  in  1169  by  the  Peace  of  Montmirail.  The  next  year 
witnessed  the  murder  of  the  famous  Thomas  a  Becket,  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  an  act  which  was  committed,  it  may  be  said,  at  the 
instigation  of  Henry  himself.  For  this  indirect  crime  the  monarch 
did  penance  at  the  shrine  of  the  martyred  prelate  in  Canterbury 
Cathedral ;  but  from  this  time  he  enjoyed  no  more  quiet.  His 
wife  Eleanor,  irritated  by  his  infidelities,  incited  his  three  sons  to 
revolt  against  him,  and  in  accordance  with  the  disgraceful  custom 
of  the  times,  Louis  VH.  supported  them  in  the  unholy  war.  They 
rendered  him  homage  for  Normandy,  Aquitaine,  and  Brittany, 
but  they  were  defeated  by  their  father.  The  two  kings  were  then 
reconciled.  Louis  placed  a  crown  on  the  head  of  his  son  Philip 
Augustus,  and  made  a  pilgrimage  to  the  tomb  of  Saint  Thomas  a 
Becket.  He  died  immediately  afterwards.  The  great  error  of  his 
reign  seems  to  have  been  the  divorce  of  his  queen,  Eleanor,  by 
which  France  lost  those  provinces  which  she  had  acquired  by  his 
marriage  and  which  she  never  finally  recovered  till  after  ages  of 
warfare  and  disaster. 


Chapter   V 

REACTION    AGAINST    FEUDALISM:     PHILIP    AUGUSTUS 
AND    PHILIP   THE    FAIR.     1 180-1328 

THE  reign  of  Philip  II.,  surnamed  Augustus,  marks  an  cpocli 
in  the  growth  of  the  royal  power  in  iM-ance.  due  to  a  large 
increase  in  the  crown  domains,  lanrls  immediately  under 
the  government  of  the  king.  The  unihcation  of  h^-ench  territory 
was  to  lay  the  foundation  for  the  unification  of  the  French  people. 
A  series  of  contests  and  negotiations  with  the  great  vassals  of  the 
crown  occupied  the  early  years  of  Philip's  reign.  He  espoused  the 
daughter  of  the  Count  of  F'landers,  and  ohtained  by  this  marriage 
the  city  of  Amiens  and  the  barrier  of  the  Somme.  so  imi>ortant  to 
the  defense  of  his  states.  He  increased  his  i)()wer  bv  unfair  means, 
fomenting  civil  wars  among  his  neighbors  and  exciting,  up  to  the 
death  of  Henry  II.,  the  children  of  that  king  against  tlieir  father. 
The  latter  signed  a  humiliating  treaty  with  his  son  Richard  and 
Philip  Augustus.  He  heard  of  the  revolt  of  John,  his  third  son, 
and  died  of  grief  at  Chinon.  Richard  succeeded  liim  on  the  throne 
of  England,  and  won,  by  his  fiery  and  impetuous  valor,  the  sur- 
name of  Cceur  de  Lion. 

The  enthusiasm  of  the  crusades  was  rekindlcil  in  Euroj^e  by 
the  misfortunes  which  overwhelmed  the  kingdom  of  Jerusalem, 
where  Guy  of  Lusignan  bore  rule.  The  Christians  had  been  de- 
feated by  Saladin.  in  the  celebrated  battle  of  Tiberias,  and  Jerusalem 
and  her  king  had  fallen  before  the  power  of  the  conqueror.  The 
terrible  news  struck  Christendom  with  consternation,  and  a  formid- 
able expedition  was  prepared.  The  three  greatest  sovereigns  of 
Europe,  Frederick  Barbarossa.  Emperor  of  Cermany.  Richard, 
King  of  England,  and  Philip,  King  of  iM-ance,  took  up  the  cross  and 
each  led  into  Palestine  a  numerous  army.  1die  results  by  no  means 
corresponded  to  these  grand  efforts.  IT-ederick,  at  the  ont>ol,  was 
drowned  in  the  river  Selef,  near  Seleucia.  IMiilip  and  Rich.ird  (|uar- 
reled  over  the  siege  of  St.  Jean  d'Acre.  and  the  former  returned 
to  his  kingdom,  leaving  a  part  of  his  army  under  tlie  command  of 

75 


76  F  RANGE 

1194-1214 

Richard.  He  swore,  on  leaving  him,  not  to  undertake  anything 
ugainst  him  in  his  ahsence.  Richard  pursued  his  heroic  career  in 
Palestine.  He  gained  brilhant  but  fruitless  victories,  wearing  out 
the  crusaders,  who  at  length  compelled  him  to  quit  the  Holy  Land. 
Saladin  offered  to  the  Christians  peaceable  possession  of  the  plains 
of  Judea,  and  liberty  to  perform  the  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem : 
Richard  agreed  to  these  conditions,  and  embarked  for  Europe.  He 
landed  in  Austria,  upon  the  territories  of  Duke  Leopold,  his  mortal 
enemy,  who  delivered  him  up  to  the  Emperor  Henry  VL,  whose 
hatred  Richard  had  excited.  Henry  imprisoned  him  in  the  castle  of 
Diirrenstein,  and  sent  to  inform  the  King  of  France  of  it.  Richard 
was  then  betrayed  by  his  brother  John,  who  had  possessed  himself  of 
a  portion  of  his  territories,  but  being  ransomed  by  his  subjects,  he 
returned  unexpectedly  to  his  dominions,  reduced  his  brother  to 
submission,  and  avenged  himself  on  Philip  by  forming  an  alliance 
with  the  most  powerful  of  the  barons  inimical  to  the  French  mon- 
arch. The  w^ar  was  ])rolonged  between  the  two  rivals  with  varied 
success;  they  finally  signed  a  truce  for  three  years.  Richard  was 
killed  at  the  siege  of  the  small  fortress  of  Chains  in  Limousin,  in 
1 199. 

John,  the  youngest  son  of  Henry  H.,  seized  the  crown  of 
England,  and  Philip  supported  against  him  the  claims  of  Arthur 
of  Brittany,  his  nephew,  the  son  of  Geoffrey,  John's  elder  brother. 
This  young  prince  promised  homage  to  Philip  for  all  his  possessions 
in  France,  and  ceded  Normandy  to  him.  War  followed.  Arthur, 
with  his  knights,  was  captured  by  King  John,  and  met  his  death  by 
assassination.  John  was  cited  by  Philip  to  appear  and  do  homage 
for  his  possessions  in  France.  He  did  not  present  himself,  and  the 
court  of  peers  condemned  him  to  death,  as  contumacious.  Nor- 
mandy, Brittany,  Guienne,  Maine,  Anjou,  and  Touraine,  lands 
which  he  held  in  fief  from  France,  were  declared  confiscated  and 
reunited  to  the  crown.  Pursuing  a  policy  in  England  that  tended 
to  diminish  the  power  of  the  church,  John  was  excommunicated 
by  Innocent  III.,  who  offered  the  crown  of  England  to  Philip.  The 
h^rench  king  assembled  an  army  to  make  a  descent  on  England, 
but  John  submitted  and  made  peace  with  the  Pope.  Philip  turned 
his  arms  against  Flanders.  Old  grievances  existed  between  Ferrand, 
count  of  that  province,  and  Philip ;  the  king  could  now  obtain  satis- 
faction by  force  oi  arms.  Ferrand  hastened  to  league  himself  with 
John  of  England  and  with  his  father.  Otto  IV.,  Emperor  of  Ger- 


REACTION     AGAINST     FEUDALIS:\r       77 

1198-1215 

many.  The  French  army  achieved  a  brilHant  victory  over  the  alHcs 
at  the  bridge  of  Bouvines. 

King  John  rendered  himself  so  odious  that  his  barons  forced 
him,  on  June  15,  121 5,  to  sign  the  charter  which  has  become 
the  basis  of  the  hbcrtics  of  the  Enghsh  people,  and  which  is 
known  as  Magna  Charta.  To  this  charter,  however,  the  Enghsh 
king  seemingly  took  oath  only  in  the  hope  of  being  released  from 
it  by  the  Pope;  and,  in  fact,  he  was  so  released.  His  barons  then 
offered  the  crown  to  Louis  of  France,  the  son  of  Plnlip  Augustus. 
This  prince,  despite  his  father's  vow  and  the  prohibition  of  the  Pope, 
whose  legate  excommunicated  him,  crossed  over  to  England.  He 
was  received  with  open  arms  by  the  barons  and  proceeded  to  possess 
himself  of  the  kingdom ;  but  King  John  died  at  this  time,  and  his 
partisans  proclaimed  his  young  son  Henry,  king.  The  English  peo- 
ple attached  themselves  to  the  youth,  and  Louis,  abandoned  by  his 
supporters,  returned  to  France,  after  having  contributed  to  establish 
on  a  more  solid  basis  the  liberties  of  England. 

The  event  which  agitated  Europe  most  profoundly  during  the 
reign  of  Philip  Augustus  was  the  War  of  the  Albigenses,  or  the 
crusade  undertaken  against  the  sectarians  of  the  south.  There 
were  many  of  them  in  Provence,  in  Catalonia,  and  especially  in 
Languedoc.  In  these  countries  the  clergy  were  not  distinguished, 
as  in  France  and  in  the  northern  provinces,  by  their  zeal  in  instruc- 
tion and  in  diffusing  the  light  of  religion.  They  were  notorious 
for  disorderly  living,  and  fell  every  day  into  greater  contempt.  The 
need  for  reform  made  itself  felt  before  long  in  the  breast  of  the 
provincial  populations,  and  many  reformers  had  already  appeared, 
when  the  famous  Innocent  HI.  ascended  the  Pontifical  throne  in 
1 198.  This  Pontiff  was  the  first  to  perceive  the  serious  menace 
to  the  Catholic  church  of  views  which  went  so  far  as  lo  break 
into  revolt  against  her  tenets,  for  the  principles  of  the  \\-ui(loi< 
were  almost  identical  with  the  opinions  which,  three  ecu; uric- 
later,  were  preached  by  Luther.  He  saw  with  imiuicliule  arul 
anger  the  new  tendency  of  feeling  in  Provence  ami  Langue- 
doc, and  proscribed  the  reformers,  wliose  doctrines  wcic  favored 
by  Raymond  VI.,  the  Count  of  ']\)nlouse,  and  his  nciiliew.  R;i>- 
mond  Roger,  Viscount  of  Beziers.  The  iiKjuisitors  sent  by  llie 
Pope  into  the  province  of  Narbonne  to  stiile  tlie  heresy  were  badly 
received,  and  the  Pojje's  legate  was  assassinated  by  the  scjuire  of  the 
count,  who  was  angered  l)y  the  sentence  of  exconiniunieati.^n  iliat 


78  FRANCE 

1208-1229 

had  been  put  in  force  against  his  suzerain  Raymond.  This  murder 
gave  the  Pope  a  pretext  to  preach  a  crusade  in  1208  against  the 
dominions  of  Raymond  VI.  and  of  his  nephew.  The  immense  prep- 
arations of  the  crusaders  struck  terror  into  Raymond  VI.,  who, 
worn  with  age  and  unable  to  offer  a  vigorous  resistance,  submitted 
and  was  reconciled  to  the  church.  The  young  Viscount  of  Beziers, 
indignant  at  the  pusillanimous  conduct  of  his  uncle,  determined  to 
resist  to  the  last.  The  crusaders  carried  Beziers  by  assault.  A 
large  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighboring  country  had 
taken  refuge  within  the  walls  of  that  city.  A  frightful  massacre 
followed,  and  the  city  was  reduced  to  ashes.  The  army  of  crusaders 
marched  thereupon  to  Carcassonne,  and  was  sharply  repulsed  by 
the  Viscount  of  Beziers.  Many  of  the  inhabitants  of  Carcassonne 
were  put  to  death,  and  the  legate  gave  all  the  conquered  country  to 
the  ferocious  Simon,  Count  de  Montfort.  He  delivered  over  to 
him  also  the  Viscount  of  Beziers,  who  died  by  poison. 

A  part  only  of  the  Albigenses  had  been  subjected  and  destroyed 
in  this  first  crusade,  and  it  was  determined  by  the  Pope  and  his 
advisers  to  make  an  end  of  the  remainder.  By  the  Council  of  Saint 
Gilles,  Raymond  was  ordered  to  deliver  over  to  the  stake  those 
whom  the  priests  pointed  out  to  him.  The  aged  count,  whose  valor 
was  reawakened  by  indignation  at  this  infamous  order,  boldly 
refused  and  prepared  for  war  to  the  death.  The  crusaders  arrived 
from  all  parts,  led  by  Simon  de  Montfort,  who  distinguished  him- 
self by  frightful  cruelties.  Immense  pyres  were  prepared,  and  in 
the  same  holocaust  heretics  and  Catholics  suspected  of  heresy  were 
ruthlessly  burned.  The  battle  of  Muret,  fought  in  12 13,  terminated 
this  war,  Don  Pedro,  King  of  Aragon,  who  had  brought  succor 
to  the  Count  of  Toulouse,  perished  there.  The  Albigenses  were  de- 
feated, and  that  defeat  gave  a  mortal  blow  to  their  cause. 

The  victorious  executioners  quarreled  among  themselves  and 
fought;  the  people  regained  courage.  Toulouse  rose,  and  the  war 
was  continued  with  various  successes,  till  at  last  all  Languedoc  rose 
in  arms.  Montfort  was  killed  before  Toulouse,  which  he  was  be- 
sieging. Count  Raymond  was  recalled,  but  died  shortly  after  his 
return,  leaving  his  territories  to  his  son  and  successor,  Raymond 
VII.,  against  whom  this  war  of  extermination  was  prosecuted  from 
time  to  time  with  relentless  cruelty.  At  length,  after  twenty-two 
years  of  atrocities,  when  the  language,  the  arts  and  industry  of  these 
provinces  had  disappeared  with  the  reformation,  the  war  ceased 


REACTION     AGAINST     F  E  T^  D  A  L  I  S  M       79 

1223-1229 

under  the  following  reign,  to  tlie  great  advantage  of  France.  Ray- 
mond VII.  ceded  to  it  a  portion  of  his  territories  by  the  Treaty  of 
Paris,  signed  in  1229. 

Philip  Augustus  took  no  active  part  in  this  war  of  extermina- 
tion. He  sought,  on  the  contrary,  to  repair  its  disasters,  and  while 
fanaticism  was  steeping  the  southern  countries  with  blood,  he  ex- 
tended his  dominions  and  rendered  them  flourishing.  The  national 
assemblies  had  fallen  into  desuetude:  Philip  appealed  to  his  chief 
barons  to  form  his  council  and  sanction  his  decrees.  He  conquered 
Normandy,  Maine,  Anjou,  Touraine,  and  Poitou,  formerly  forfeited 
to  the  King  of  England,  and  the  county  of  Auvergne.  Under  his 
reign  Valois,  part  of  Vermandoies,  and  Amienois  fell  to  the  crown 
by  the  extinction  of  the  families  who  possessed  them.  This  king 
also  reannexed  Artois  to  the  crown  by  his  union  with  Isabelle  of 
Flanders  and  Hainault.  Finally  he  gave  the  inheritance  of  Brittany 
to  Pierre  J^.Iauclerc,  a  member  of  his  family,  and  a  Capetian  dynasty 
was  founded  in  that  country.  Thus  was  formed  the  new  duchy 
of  Brittany,  which  became  one  of  the  great  immediate  fiefs  of  the 
crown  of  France.  Philip  Augustus  was  occupied  all  his  life  in  war- 
fare, treaties,  reforms,  laws  for  his  fiefs,  and  he  secured  upon  a 
firm  basis  the  relations  between  lords  and  vassals,  which  until  then 
had  been  only  in  an  unsettled  and  arbitrary  condition,  and  \\  as  thus 
the  principal  founder  of  feudal  monarchy.  The  military  art  owed 
some  progress  to  him.  Soldiers  received  pay,  and  for  this  purpose 
he  established  the  first  permanent  imposts.  He  ap])ointed  three 
maritime  armaments,  and  obtained  by  his  activity,  his  prudence,  antl 
his  talents  the  respect  both  of  sovereigns  and  people.  The  im- 
portant foundations  of  the  University  of  Paris  dates  from  this 
prince,  and  the  city  itself  was  indebted  to  him  for  many  useful 
alterations.  Up  to  that  time  all  the  streets  of  the  capital  became,  in 
rainy  weather,  infectious  sewers;  the  principal  thorcnighfarcs  were 
paved  and  embellished  by  his  orders.  He  enlarged  the  city,  enclosed 
it  with  walls,  built  market-places,  and  surrounded  the  Cemetery  of 
the  Innocents  with  cloisters;  he  built  a  palace  by  the  side  o{  the 
large  tower  of  the  Louvre,  and  continued  the  cathedral,  wiu'ch  had 
been  commenced  prior  to  his  reign.  He  gained  by  his  coiuiuests  and 
institutions  the  esteem  of  his  contemporaries,  and  died  at  Xantes  in 
1223,  after  a  reign  of  forty-three  years,  leaving  a  portion  of  his 
immense  wealth  to  the  priests  and  crusaders,  and  also  making  con- 
siderable gifts  to  the  poor. 


80  FRANCE 

1223-1242 

Louis  VIII.,  son  of  Philip  Augustus,  reigned  only  three  years. 
During  his  father's  life  he  had  been  recognized  as  King  of  England 
bv  the  barons  hostile  to  King  John,  but  being  abandoned  by  his  par- 
tisans he  was  obliged  to  quit  the  kingdom.  On  returning  to  France 
he  took  from  the  English  Poitou,  which  they  had  reconquered,  as 
well  as  several  important  places  in  Aunis,  Perigord,  and  Limousin, 
among  others  Rochelle.  and  signalized  the  end  of  his  reign  by  a 
second  crusade  against  the  unhappy  Albigenses.  The  principal 
cities  of  Languedoc,  Beaucaire,  Carcassonne,  and  Beziers  opened 
their  gates  to  him,  and  the  south  of  France,  with  the  exception  of 
Guienne  and  Toulouse,  recognized  the  royal  authority.  Louis  was 
marching  against  the  latter  city  when  an  epidemic  fever  attacked 
his  army,  and  he  died  at  Montpensier,  either  from  an  attack  of  the 
malady,  or,  as  some  believed,  from  poison,  administered  to  him 
by  Thibaut  of  Champagne,  who  was  violently  enamored  of  Queen 
Blanche  of  Castile,  whom  the  king  left  a  widow,  with  five  children 
of  tender  years.     The  eldest  of  her  sons  was  St  Louis. 

Louis  IX.,  justly  venerated  under  the  name  of  St.  Louis,  was 
only  twelve  years  of  age  on  the  death  of  his  father,  and  the  regency 
of  the  kingdom  devolved  on  Queen  Blanche,  his  mother.  She  gave 
excellent  masters  to  her  children,  and  had  them  carefully  brought 
up  in  the  fear  of  God.  This  pious  queen  also  possessed  political 
talent,  and  enabled  France  to  reap  the  fruit  of  the  horrible  war  with 
the  Albigenses.  The  Treaty  of  Paris,  signed  in  1229  between  her 
and  Raymond  VII.,  Count  of  Toulouse,  attached  to  the  crown  a 
large  portion  of  lower  Languedoc,  forming  the  seneschalships  of 
Beaucaire  and  Carcassonne,  and  Raymond  recognized  as  his  heir 
in  the  rest  of  his  territory  his  son-in-law  Alphonse,  one  of  the 
brothers  of  Louis  IX.,  declaring  the  inheritance  should  revert  to  him, 
if  there  were  no  child  born  of  the  marriage  of  Alphonse  with  his 
only  daughter,  Jeanne. 

Louis  IX.  was  nineteen  years  of  age  when  he  married  Margaret 
of  I'rovence,  tlien  only  thirteen.  Queen  Blanche  separated  them 
for  six  years,  and  always  afterwards  showed  a  jealousy  about 
Margaret's  influence  over  the  king.  A  few  years  afterwards  the 
sister  of  this  princess  married  Henry  III.,  King  of  England,  who 
thus  became  the  brother-in-law  of  St.  Louis.  Louis  IX.  had  soon 
to  contend  against  the  great  vassals  and  nobles,  to  whom  his  grand- 
father, Philip  Augustus,  had  dealt  such  terrible  blows.  The  Counts 
de  la  ]\Iarche,  de  Foix,  and  several  other  vassels  united  with  Henry 


REACTION     AGAINST     F  E  T^  D  A  L  I  S  M       SI 

1242-1249 

In.,  who  crossed  the  sea  witli  an  army,  and  claimed  tlie  jir-.vinces 
taken  from  John  Lackland.  Tlie  Eng-hsh  and  tlieir  ahies  were  c(;:i- 
qnered  by  Louis  at  the  Erid^^c  cf  Tailleboln•f,^  in  124.?,  and  a'_;ain 
before  Saintes,  which  city  ]-ie  united  to  the  crown,  with  a  part  of 
Saintonge,  by  the  Treaty  nf  Bordeaux.  The  rebehious  lords  sub- 
mitted to  a  master  who  generously  pardoned  tliem,  and  Henry  re- 
turned to  England. 

All  the  East  was  agitated  at  this  time  in  the  expectation  (jf  a 
frightful  catastrophe.  The  ^Mongols,  emerging  from  upper  Asia, 
had  exterminated  every  nation  tliey  passed  tlirough.  Their  van- 
guard had  invaded  the  Holy  Land,  arid  gained  a  victory  over  tl;e 
Christians  and  ^Mussulmans,  whom  terror  had  united,  and  Jerusalem 
had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  ferocious  conquerors.  St.  Louis 
w-as  ill  and  almost  dying  when  the  news  of  this  disaster  reaciied 
Europe;  but  on  his  recovery  he  determined  to  undertake  a  new 
crusade  for  the  delivery  of  the  Holy  Land  from  its  conquerors; 
and,  having  assembled  an  army,  left  Paris  on  July  12,  IJ48, 
to  embark  at  Aigues-^Mortes,  a  town  he  had  founded  at  a  great  cost, 
in  order  to  have  a  port  in  the  ^Mediterranean.  He  had  resolved  to 
proceed  towards  Egypt  by  Cyprus,  instead  of  going  to  Syria  by 
Sicily,  a  mistake  which  ultimately  led  to  the  failure  of  his  enterjjrise. 

The  king  sojourned  a  year  at  Xicosium,  the  capital  of  Cyprus, 
and  then  set  out  for  Egypt.  On  arriving  in  sight  of  Damietta  he 
leaped  into  the  sea.  sword  in  hand,  at  the  head  of  his  knights, 
repulsed  the  enemy,  and  sci/^ed  this  strong  city  and  all  its  immense 
resources.  In  this  town  he  remained  for  five  months  inactive,  and 
then  marched  without  any  precautions  on  Mans(jurah,  '1  he  '1  urks 
surrounded  him  on  a  burning  plain,  and  hurled  the  terrible  com- 
position know-n  as  "  Greek  fire  "  on  his  baggage  and  camp.  Louis, 
in  this  desperate  situation,  gave  orders  for  battle  (  IJ4')).  The 
Count  of  Artois,  his  brother,  ru-^hed  imprudently  on  Mansour:>h  and 
surprised  the  town,  but  was  surrounded  there  and  killed,  with  the 
knights  who  followed  him.  The  kin.g,  who  had  been  unable  to 
relieve  them,  fell  back  on  a  camp  of  the  Saracens,  carried  it.  and 
shut  himself  up  in  it.  There  disease  and  repeated  assaults  carried 
off  one  half  of  his  army,  and  he  v;as  himself  taken  dangerously  ill. 
He  ordered  a  retreat  on  Damietta.  where  he  had  left  the  (lueen  and 
a  powerful  garrison,  but  Turkish  galleys  blocked  the  ])assage  of 
the  river,  and  he  fell,  with  all  his  knights,  into  tlie  hands  of  the 
T^Iussulmans.    Queen  ALirgaret,  at  Damietta,  proved  herself  worthy 


82  FRANCE 

1249-1256 

of  her  husband.  She  kept  the  city  as  a  pledge  for  the  safety  of  the 
king,  and  it  was  offered,  with  400,000  hvres,  for  the  royal  ransom. 
At  this  price  Louis  recovered  his  hberty.  His  barons  returned  to 
France,  but  he  remained  four  years  longer  in  Syria,  exhorting  his 
knights  to  rejoin  him,  and  employing  his  treasures  in  fortifying 
D'Acre,  Sidon,  and  other  places  in  Palestine  that  belonged  to  the 
Christians. 

Queen  Blanche  died  in  1252,  after  a  wise  regency,  and  the  king 
felt  the  most  bitter  grief  at  his  loss.  He  returned  to  France,  and 
made  his  entry  into  Paris,  in  September,  1254,  displaying  on  his 
countenance  the  seared  impression  of  all  his  disasters.  On  his  return 
Louis  occupied  himself  actively  with  the  reformation  of  his  kingdom, 
and  displayed  the  lofty  qualities  of  a  legislator.  He  completely 
destroyed  the  sovereign  authority  of  the  nobles  by  depriving  them 
of  the  right  of  dealing  justice  arbitrarily.  The  code  of  Roman  laws 
known  by  the  name  of  the  Pandects  of  Justinian,  and  which  gov- 
erned the  Greek  empire,  became  known  at  this  period  in  France. 
This  collection  of  laws  had  at  the  time  such  a  superiority  over 
every  other  code  that  its  application  was  desirable ;  but  the  ignorance 
of  the  nobles  was  so  great  that  it  was  found  necessary  to  call  in  men 
versed  in  the  study  of  the  laws  to  explain  it.  Saint  Louis  was  the 
first  to  introduce  these  lawyers  into  a  parlement  which  he  con- 
stituted as  a  court  of  justice.  The  lawyers  ultimately  succeeded  in 
securing  the  entire  management  of  judicial  affairs.  This  tended 
to  throw  into  their  hands  a  great  part  of  the  feudal  authority  hith- 
erto exercised  by  the  nobles,  and  while  they  sought  to  abridge  the 
power  of  the  peers  and  barons,  they  endeavored  to  render  that  of 
the  king  absolute,  by  actively  seconding  him  in  all  his  projects  of 
reform  and  attacks  upon  feudal  rights. 

This  pious  and  humane  monarch  attempted  to  put  an  end  to 
the  private  wars  between  his  barons  and  prohibited  judicial  combats, 
ordering  that  judicial  debates  should  be  substituted  for  these  en- 
counters, and  considerably  enlarged  the  authority  of  the  crown  by 
estabhshing  '*  royal  cases,"  in  which  he  himself  heard  causes  be- 
tween his  subjects  and  their  lords.  The  lawyers  gave  the  greatest 
extension  to  these  appeals.  Nor  did  the  king  permit  cities  to  be 
rendered  independent  of  his  authority;  he  transformed  many  com- 
munes into  royal  towns  by  the  ordinance  of  1256,  which  ordered 
them  to  put  forward  four  candidates,  from  among  whom  the  king 
should  choose  the  mayor,  who  was  to  be  responsible  to  him  for  his 


REACTION     AGAINST     FEUDALISM       S-'J 

1256-1258 

conduct.  It  was  then  settled  that  the  king-  alone  had  the  right  to 
make  communes,  that  they  should  owe  him  fidelity  against  all,  and 
that  the  title  of  "  king's  citizen  "  should  be  a  safeguard  under  all 
circumstances. 

Louis'  last  reform  was  that  of  the  coinage.  IVLiny  nobles 
had  the  right  of  coining-  in  their  domains,  but  the  king  fixed  the 
value  of  the  coinage  in  each  case,  and  brought  his  own  coin  every- 
where into  circulation.  He  also  effected  greater  security  on  the 
highways  of  the  kingdom,  by  obliging  the  nobles  who  levied  a  toll 
to  guarantee  the  security  of  the  roads  through  their  domains. 

So  much  care  devoted  to  the  prosperity  of  the  kingdom  and 
to  the  salutary  establishment  of  his  authority  did  not  so  fully  occupy 
the  great  mind  of  this  king  as  to  divert  him  from  occupations  of 
less  general  interest,  but  of  no  less  useful  kind.  Pie  founded  a 
public  library  in  Paris;  created  the  Hospital  of  the  Ouinze-vingts. 
intended  to  receive  three  hundred  blind  people,  and  built  the  Sainte 
Chapelle,  which  may  still  be  admired  at  Paris,  near  the  Palace  of 
Justice,  at  that  period  the  palace  of  the  king. 

Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  his  far-seeing  wisdom  and  pure  zeal, 
he  committed  several  faults,  the  consequence  of  errors  which  be- 
longed to  his  age  rather  than  to  himself :  he  laid  cruel  penalties  on 
Jev/s  and  heretics,  and  cast  many  merchants  into  dungeons  for 
lending  money  on  interest,  which  at  that  time  was  regarded  as  a 
crime,  A  scruple  fatal  to  France  dislurl)ed  tlie  mind  of  this  holy 
monarch.  The  conquests  of  Philip  Augustus  and  the  confiscation 
of  the  property  of  tlie  English  crown  oppressed  him,  and  appeared 
to  him  in  the  light  of  usurpations;  and  he  concluded  at  Abbeville, 
in  1259,  contrary  to  the  advice  of  his  barons  and  his  family,  a 
treaty,  by  which  he  restored  to  Ilenry  HI.  Pcrigord,  Limousin, 
Agenais,  Ouercy,  and  Saintonge;  while  Henry,  on  his  side,  gave 
up  his  claims  to  Normandy,  Anjou,  Tvlainc.  Touraine  and  Poilou. 
and  recognized  the  King  of  Frar.ce  as  his  suzerain  for  the  posscssii  )n> 
on  the  Continent.  Almost  at  the  same  time  that  Louis  signed  tlic 
Treaty  of  Abbeville  lie  signed  with  the  King  of  Aragon  the  Treaty 
of  Corbeil  (1258),  by  which  that  prince  gave  up  all  the  licfs  he  still 
possessed  in  Languedoc  and  his  claims  to  Provence,  in  return  for 
which  France  surrended  her  suzerainty  over  the  countries  of  Bar- 
celona, Roussillon,  and  Cerdagne.  The  King  of  Aragon  only  re- 
tained in  France  the  lordship  of  T^lontpellier,  and  the  Pyrenees 
became  the  frontier  of  the  two  states. 


84  F  R  A  N  C  E 

1258-1270 

Saint  Louis  had  lost  his  eldest  son,  and  several  members  of 
his  family  proved  to  be  turbulent  and  dangerous  to  France.  Charles 
of  Anjou,  his  brollier,  an  ambitious  and  cruel  prince,  heir,  by  his 
marriage  with  Beatrice  of  Provence,  to  the  powerful  counts  of  that 
name,  caused  him  very  great  anxiety,  and  with  the  intention  of  re- 
moving him  Louis  favored  his  projects  with  regard  to  Naples  and 
Sicily,  then  possessio^is  of  the  imperial  crown.  The  illustrious  house 
of  Suabia  was  humbled ;  Frederick  IL,  its  last  emperor,  met  with  his 
death  in  struggling  against  the  I^ope,  who  sold  his  heritage  and 
offered  to  the  King  of  France  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  where  ^lan- 
fred,  the  bastard  son  of  Frederick  IL,  then  reigned.  Saint  Louis 
refused  the  ofifer  for  himself,  but  allowed  his  brother  to  accept  it. 
Charles  of  Anjou  left  France  with  an  army  gathered  together  in 
Provence;  and  six  years  later,  in  1266,  the  battle  of  Grandella, 
where  ]\Ianfred  perished,  placed  the  crown  of  Naples  and  Sicily 
securely  on  his  head. 

The  East  now  attracted  more  forcibly  than  ever  the  attention 
of  Saint  Louis.  The  Latin  empire  in  Constantinople  was  no  more; 
the  Greeks  had  retaken  that  city  in  1261.  Taking  advantage  of  tlie 
divisions  among  the  Christians  in  Syria,  Bedocdard,  the  sultan  of 
Egypt,  made  a  series  of  rapid  concpests  in  Palestine.  Ca^sarea, 
Jaffa,  and  Antioch  had  fallen  into  his  power,  and  thousands  of  Cliris- 
tians  had  been  massacred  in  the  last-named  town.  On  receiving  in- 
telligence of  this  frightful  disaster,  Saint  Louis  took  up  the  cross 
for  the  second  time,  and  embarking  again  at  Aigues-Mortes,  in 
1270,  set  sail  for  Tunis,  disembarked  close  to  the  ruins  of  ancient 
Carthage,  and  had  to  suffer  an  inlinity  of  evils,  from  the  dryness  of 
the  soil,  the  lieat  of  the  sun,  and  the  arrows  of  the  Moors.  The 
plague  carried  awa}-  part  of  his  army,  which  he  was  compelled  to 
liold  back  in  fatal  inaction.  It  struck  down  his  second  son.,  tlie 
Count  of  Nevers.  and  he  himself  was  attacked  at  the  end  of  the 
month,  and  died  on  August  2^.  1270,  after  having  appointed 
as  regents  of  tlie  kingdom  ]\Iathieu  de  Saint-Denis  and  Roger  dc 
Nesle.  No  other  king  was  more  W(M-thy  of  the  admiration  of  his 
fellow-men,  and  alone,  out  of  all  his  race,  the  church  bestowed  on 
him  the  honors  of  canonization. 

The  third  >~<m  of  Saint  Louis,  Philip  III.,  called  without  any 
known  rea.-.-n  I'liili])  the  B(d(l.  did  not  follow  the  glorious  example 
of  his  father,  lie  reigned  surrounded  bv  valets,  and  wholly  given 
up  to  superstiti'i's  })ractices.     The  same  day  that  Saint  Louis  died 


REACTION     AGAINST     F  E  U  D  A  L  1  S  M       sr, 

1270-1285 

lie  received  Charles  of  Anjoii,  his  uncle,  who  entered  into  llie  port 
of  Carthage  -with  a  tleet  and  an  army.  Peace  was  conchided  that 
year,  and  then  the  army  returned  to  Europe,  diminished  rjne  hah' 
by  the  heat,  fatigue,  and  the  plague.  Philip  reentered  Prance  pre- 
ceded by  five  coffins:  those  of  his  father,  his  wife,  his  snn.  Ins 
brother,  the  Count  of  Nevers,  and  his  brother-in-law,  Thibaut  II., 
Count  of  Champagne,  King  of  Navarre.  His  uncle  Alphonso.  wluj 
had  married  Jeanne,  the  daughter  and  heiress  of  Raymond  VII., 
last  Count  of  Toulouse,  died  shortly  afterwards  without  offspring. 
and  his  death  made  Philip  heir  to  the  county  of  Toulouse :  but  a  part 
of  this  great  fief,  the  county  of  Venaissin,  to  which  Philip  had  only 
doubtful  rights,  he  ceded  to  Gregory  X.,  one  of  the  most  venerable 
men  that  ever  occupied  the  Pontifical   throne. 

The  reign  of  Philip  III.  left  no  glorious  souvenir  for  France, 
either  in  the  interior  of  the  kingdom  or  in  foreign  lands,  and  this 
period  was  marked  by  the  frightful  disa.ster  which  overthrew  the 
French  government  in  Sicily.  Charles  of  Anjou,  after  having 
caused  his  rival,  the  young  Conradin,  son  of  Conrad  W.,  to  be 
condemned  to  death  and  executed,  believed  himself  securely  seated 
upon  his  new  throne.  Conradin  was  the  last  prince  of  the  house 
of  Hohenstaufen ;  his  death  left  the  field  clear  for  Charles  of  Anjoa. 
who  from  that  time  believed  that  he  could  oppress  Naples  am.l  Sicily 
under  a  frightful  t3'ranny.  Vengeance  brooded  in  e\ery  he:u-t.  John 
of  Procida  became  the  soul  of  tlie  conspiracy;  he  was  certain  of  the 
assistance  of  the  Greek  em]:)eror.  Michael  Pakeokjgtis,  and  of  the 
King  of  Aragon,  Don  Pedro  III.  'khe  latter  assembled  a  ficet, 
which  he  entrusted  to  the  celebrated  Ro.ger  of  Loria,  his  adnfiral, 
Avith  the  order  to  await  events  upon  the  coast  of  Africa.  Siuldeidy. 
on  March  30,  1282,  the  peo])le  of  Palermo  arose  at  the  mo- 
ment wdien  the  vesper  bells  sminded.  At  the  stroke  of  this  tocsin 
the  French  w-ere  massacred  in  the  streets  of  Palermo,  and  in  a  month 
afterward  the  same  thing  had  occurred  throughout  the  whole  of 
Sicily. 

Charles  of  .Vnjoti,  furious,  attacked  Messina,  but  Rngcr  of 
Loria  destroyed  his  licet  under  his  \ery  eyes.  I'edro  was  crowned 
King  of  Sicily.  Charles  demanded  vengeance  from  King  riiilip,  liis 
nephew.  The  Pontiff,  Martiii  1\'.,  sustained  his  cause  with  ardor; 
he  declared  D(jn  Pedro  de])r;ved  of  the  crown  of  Aragon.  and  named 
Charles  of  Valois,  second  son  of  I'hilip.  successor  to  Don  Pedrt). 
against  whom  he  ureached  a  crusade.     Philip  III.  commanded  the 


86  FRANCE 

1285-1302 

expedition  against  Aragon ;  but  it  was  a  failure.  The  king  returned 
to  France  ill  and  expired  in  the  course  of  the  year. 

Philip  IV.,  surnamed  the  Fair,  was  sixteen  years  of  age  when 
he  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  Philip  the  Bold,  his  father.  He  at 
once  continued  the  war  against  Aragon,  which  his  father  had  com- 
menced, and  which  was  prolonged  for  many  years  without  any 
decisive  success.  It  was  terminated  by  the  Treaty  of  Anagni,  signed 
in  1295.  This  treaty  recognized  Alphonso  III.,  son  of  Pedro  III., 
King  of  Aragon,  and  Charles  II.,  son  of  Charles  of  Anjou,  King  of 
Naples.  Sicily,  however,  was  detached  from  Naples  and  given 
to  the  King  of  Aragon,  while  Charles  II.,  crowned  by  the  Pope, 
ceded  his  hereditary  domains,  Maine  and  Anjou,  to  Charles  of 
Valois,  second  son  of  Philip  the  Bold. 

Philip,  whose  character  was  hard,  irascible,  and  rapacious, 
oppressed  his  subjects  without  pity,  and  his  exactions  were  sup- 
ported by  unprincipled  men  of  law,  notorious  for  their  chicanery 
and  base  severity.  These  men  were,  under  him,  the  tyrants  of 
France.  Their  work,  however,  in  so  far  as  it  touched  legislation, 
had  a  useful  influence  which  cannot  be  forgotten.  They  sought 
in  political  law  to  unite  all  the  privileges  of  the  sovereignty  in  the 
sole  hands  of  the  prince,  while  they  asserted  the  equality  of  the 
subjects  before  the  law ;  they  also  endeavored  to  establish  the  civil 
law  on  a  basis  of  reason  and  natural  ecjuity.  In  this  manner  they 
demolished  the  social  order  as  it  had  been  created  under  the  feudal 
system,  organized  at  the  same  time  monarchial  centralization,  and 
became  the  true  founders  of  the  civil  order  in  modern  times.  The 
court  of  the  king,  or  Parlement,  the  supreme  tribunal  of  the  king- 
dom, became  the  seat  of  their  power.  This  body,  founded  by  Saint 
Louis  with  the  political  and  judicial  privileges  of  the  time,  was 
modified  by  Philip  IV.,  the  judicial  element  at  this  period  being 
alone  preserved.  Ilie  Parlement  in  the  meantime  ceased  to  be 
itinerant.  An  ordinance  of  March  23,  1302,  fixed  it  in  Paris, 
and  estaljlished  it  in  the  Cite,  at  the  ancient  palace  of  the  kings, 
which  took,  from  that  time,  the  name  of  the  Palace  of  Jus- 
lice.  It  was  C()m])()sed  of  clerks  and  lawyers,  all  persons  of  the 
Third  Fstatc,  and  it  became  the  focus  of  the  anti-feudal  revoluti(3n. 
In  order  to  sustain  this  new  form  of  government,  and  to  execute 
the  judgments  of  the  men  of  law,  it  was  necessary  to  have  an 
imposing  force.  The  king  had  to  pay  a  judicial  and  administra- 
tive army,  and  as  the  maintenance  of  the  horse  and  foot  sergeants 


REACTION     AGAINST     FEUDALISM       87 

1302-1304 

atone  cost  large  sums,  it  was  necessary  to  wrest  this  nicMiey  bv 
violence  from  the  unfortunate  population.  Thence  sprang  the 
despotism,  thence  the  cruel  miseries,  which  held  in  sus])ense,  for 
so  long  a  time,  the  advantages  of  the  central  and  monarchial  power. 

This  king,  far  from  warlike,  saw  without  emotion  the  disasters 
among  the  Christians,  and  the  capture  of  Saint  Jean  d'Acre.  their 
last  stronghold  in  Palestine.  The  successes  of  Edward  I.,  King  of 
England,  troubled  him  more.  That  prince,  at  the  death  of  Alexan- 
der III.,  King  of  Scotland,  caused  himself  to  be  recognized  as 
arbiter  between  the  aspirants  to  the  throne,  and  had  awarded  it  to 
John  Baliol,  whose  weakness  he  knew.  He  threatened  to  invade 
that  kingdom,  when  Philip  caused  liim  to  be  summoned  before  the 
Parlement  of  Paris  as  his  vassal  for  Aquitaine,  alleging  as  a  pre- 
text certain  troubles  caused  by  the  rivalry  of  commerce  between  the 
two  nations.  On  this  Edward  persuaded  the  Count  of  Flanders  to 
take  up  arms  against  France,  while  Philip  promised  to  support  the 
celebrated  William  Wallace,  then  in  arms  against  the  English  king. 
The  differences  between  the  French  and  English  monarchs,  how- 
ever, were  reconciled  by  Boniface  VIII.,  who  imposed  a  long  truce 
upon  the  two  kings,  and  united  their  interests  by  means  of  mar- 
riages. The  King  of  England  abandoned  the  Count  of  Flanders, 
and  Philip  no  longer  defended  Scotland,  which  Edward  seized  for 
the  second  time.  The  French  monarch  then  invited  the  Count  of 
Flanders  to  place  himself  at  his  discretion,  and  that  unfortunat.? 
nobleman  gave  himself  up  with  confidence  to  the  king.  He  was 
immediately  thrown  into  prison,  and  all  his  states  were  seized  b> 
Philip.  The  tyranny  which  the  French  exercised  in  klanders  soon 
caused  the  people  to  revolt.  Tlie  trade  corporation?  assembled, 
massacred  the  French  in  Bruges,  and  in  the  other  towns,  restoring 
independence  to  their  country.  The  Flemish  militia  occupied  Court- 
ray,  in  front  of  which  town  the  French  army  was  encamped.  They 
went  out  to  meet  it,  and  waited  bravely  for  the  battle,  which  resulted 
in  the  total  destruction  of  the  French,  and  the  wholesale  slaughter 
of  the  flower  of  the  chivalry  of  France.  This  defeat  weakened 
the  feudal  power  in  France,  and  strengthened  royalty. 

Philip  resolved  to  avenge  in  person  the  defeat  of  his  nobility  at 
Courtray.  He  entered  Flanders  at  the  head  oi  a  powerful  army, 
and  occupied  Tournay.  Iii:»  fleet  overcame  the  Flemings  at  Zerik- 
see,  and  in  1304  his  knights  achieved  a  costly  victory  at  Mons-en- 
Puelle.     The  brave  citizens,   however,   of  Ghent,   Bruges,   Yt)res, 


88  F  R  A  N  C^  E 

1304-1312 

and  other  towns  in  Flanders  continued  to  resist.  Peace  was  finally 
made  in  1304,  but  war  broke  out  again  in  1309  and  it  was  some  time 
before  the  terms  of  the  treaty  could  be  executed.  The  Count  of 
Flanders  recovered  his  possessions  as  a  fief  of  France. 

The  assumption  by  the  Popes  of  the  right  to  bestow  the  king- 
doms of  the  world  on  whom  they  would,  and  the  support  given  by 
Boniface  VIII.  to  his  legate,  the  Bishop  of  Pamiers  against  Philip, 
whom  the  prelate  had  insulted,  deeply  wounded  the  pride  of  the 
king,  who  caused  the  bishop  to  be  arrested  on  a  charge  of  high 
treason,  and  demanded  his  degradation  from  his  metropolitan,  the 
Archbishop  of  Narbonne.  The  Pope  revoked  the  judgment  and 
issued  a  bull  against  the  king.  Philip,  supported  by  the  University 
of  Paris,  caused  the  Pope's  bull  to  be  burned,  and  convoked,  in  1302, 
the  first  Estates-General,  where  the  deputies  of  the  Third  Estate 
had  been  summoned,  alongside  the  barons  and  bishops.  The 
mayors,  aldermen,  consuls  of  the  good  cities,  came  to  Paris,  and 
took  their  places  in  Notre  Dame,  where  on  A])ril  10,  1302, 
the  first  session  was  opened.  At  this  the  nobility,  the  clergy,  and 
the  Third  Estate  proclaimed  the  crown  completely  independent  of 
the  church.  Boniface  avenged  himself  by  excommunicating  the 
king,  who  sent  his  representative,  William  of  Nogaret,  to  Anagni, 
where  Boniface  resided,  to  make  himself  master  of  the  Pope's  per- 
son. Boniface  was  promptly  released  by  the  people  of  Anagni, 
but  he  expired  at  Rome,  a  month  afterwards,  of  a  fever  caused  by 
the  shock  and  at  the  age  of  eighty-six  years. 

For  a  year  the  Papal  See  was  vacant,  while  secret  intrigues 
continued  in  the  college  of  cardinals.  Finally  Bertrand  of  Got, 
Archbishop  of  Bordeaux,  was  elected  and  took  the  name  Clement 
V.  It  was  a  victory  for  the  French  cardinals.  The  new  Pope  did 
not  go  to  Italy.  He  was  installed  at  Lyons  and  finally  took  up  his 
residence  at  Avignon.  It  was  the  beginning  of  the  "  Babylonian 
Captivity"  of  the  church.  Supported  in  his  ruthless  acts  by  the 
new  Pope,  the  king  immediately  commenced  a  frightful  persecution 
of  the  members  of  the  Order  of  the  Templars  in  France,  before  they 
even  suspected  his  design.  Confessions  of  evil  doing  were  wrung 
from  them  by  torture;  their  property  was  confiscated  and  their 
characters  stained  with  horrible  imputations  without  legal  proof. 
Hundreds  of  blameless  men  then  perished  by  the  sword,  by  hunger, 
and  by  fire  in  France.  But  not  content  with  this,  Philip,  then  the 
most  powerful  king  in  Europe,  invited  all  the  sovereigns  to  follow 


REACTION     A  G  A  1  N  S  T     F  E  U  D  A  L  I  S  M       89 

1312-1316 

his  example;  Edward  II.,  King-  of  England,  and  Charles  IT..  King 
of  Naples,  acceded  to  his  wishes,  and  seized  upon  the  Templars  in 
their  states;  and  fifteen  thousand  families,  it  is  estimated,  were 
broken  up  by  this  terrible  measure. 

Philip  IV.,  dishonored  among-  the  people  by  the  surname  of 
the  False  Coiner,  levied  enormous  taxes,  debased  the  coinage,  and, 
after  the  money  w^as  issued,  refused  to  receive  it  at  its  face  value. 
He  was  the  most  absolute  despot  who  had  reigned  in  France :  yet 
he  w^as  the  first  of  his  race  who  granted  representation  to  the  Third 
Estate.  He  expired  in  13 14.  recommending  to  his  son  piety,  clem- 
ency, and  justice.  Clement  V.,  his  accomplice  in  the  spoliation  of 
the  Templars,  died  soon  after  him. 

Under  Philip  the  Fair  the  domain  of  the  crown  was  increased 
by  La  Marche  and  Angoumois.  which  he  confiscated ;  by  Lyonnais, 
which  he  detached  from  the  empire,  and  by  a  part  of  Frencli  Flaii- 
ders.  He  had  married  Jeanne,  heiress  of  the  kingdom  of  Navarre, 
of  the  country  of  Champagne,  and  of  Brie.  The  results  of  that 
union  were  favorable  to  France. 

Philip  left  three  sons  and  one  daughter.  Louis  X.,  the  eldest, 
surnamed  ''  Lc  Hutin,"  or  the  Stubborn,  was  twenty-five  vears  of 
age  at  the  death  of  his  father,  and  had  already  worn  for  fifteen 
years  the  crown  of  Navarre,  which  he  had  inlieritcd  from  his 
mother,  together  with  tliat  of  Champagne  and  Brie.  His  two 
brothers,  Philip  and  Charles,  like  himself,  were  given  up  to  vicious 
habits,  and  their  sister  Isabella,  wife  of  Edward  IT.,  only  dis- 
tinguished herself  by  crime  and  infamy.  Marguerite  of  Burgundy, 
wife  of  the  king,  had  been  shut  up,  at  the  close  of  the  last  reign, 
in  the  chateau  Gaillard  des  Andelys.  on  a  charge  of  adultery.  Louis 
caused  her  to  be  strangled,  anrl  afterwards  married  Clemcnce  of 
Hungary.  He  always  lived  surrounded  by  proiligate  young  noble- 
men, whom  he  made  the  companions  of  his  pleasures,  -uid  tlie 
nobility,  taking  advantage  of  their  influence,  obtained  from  him 
the  restoration  of  their  ancient  privileges.  He  thus  weakened  the 
mainspring  of  the  monarchy,  so  anxiously  cared  for  liy  his  father. 
But  the  king,  pressed  by  want  of  money,  issued  also  S(Mne  decrees 
favorable  to  the  national  liberties,  offering  to  the  peasants  of  the 
crown  and  to  the  serfs  held  in  mortmain  to  sell  them  their  liberty. 
But  he  gave  no  guarantee  of  the  rights  that  he  recognij^e*!.  and  such 
was  the  misery  of  the  people,  and  such  the  distrust  that  the  king 
inspired,  that  his  decree  was  only  received  by  a  small  number,  and 


90  F  R  A  N  C  E 

1316-1322 

brought  little  money  into  the  treasury.  Great  disorder  in  the 
finances,  and  the  horrors  of  a  famine,  accompanied  1)y  astounding 
scandals,  marked  the  rapid  course  of  this  reign.  Louis  X.  died 
in  1 316,  in  consequence  of  an  imprudence,  leaving  his  wife,  Clem- 
ence  of  Hungary,  expecting  the  birth  of  a  child.  By  his  first  mar- 
riage he  had  only  one  daughter,  called  Jeanne,  then  six  years  old. 

Philip  v.,  called  the  Long,  brother  of  Louis  le  Hutin,  took 
possession  of  the  regency,  to  the  prejudice  of  the  queen,  who  gave 
birth  to  a  son,  named  John.  This  child  only  survived  a  few  days. 
Philip,  uncle  of  the  Princess  Jeanne,  was  already  in  possession  of 
the  royal  authority.  According  to  a  contemporary  chronicler,  the 
States-General,  called  together  by  Philip  in  131 7,  laid  down  the 
principle  that  in  France  "  women  should  never  inherit  the  crown." 
This  was  the  first  application  of  the  so-called  Salic  Law. 

The  new  king  jjestowed  attention  on  the  administration  of  the 
interior,  appointed  the  captains-general  of  the  provinces  and  the 
captains  of  the  towns,  and  organized  the  militia  of  the  communes, 
decreeing,  however,  that  the  arms  should  remain  deposited  in  the 
houses  of  the  captains  till  there  was  a  necessity  for  their  use.  Save 
a  rapid  and  useless  expedition  into  Italy,  he  had  no  interior  or 
exterior  war  to  sustain.  A  horrible  persecution  of  lepers  and  per- 
sons suffering  from  skin  diseases  was  set  on  foot  in  this  reign  under 
the  pretense  that  they  had  poisoned  the  wells  of  drinking-water 
throughout  the  kingdom.  The  accused  were  barbarously  executed 
without  any  proof  except  that  forced  out  by  horrible  tortures.  The 
Jews,  suspected  of  being  in  complicity  with  them,  perished  in  the 
same  torments.  In  the  midst  of  these  atrocious  executions  the  king 
fell  ill  of  a  wasting  disease,  and  died  at  Longchamp,  in  1322.  This 
prince  gave  letters  of  nobility  to  persons  of  mean  origin.  At  last 
these  letters  were  sold  for  money,  and  this  innovation,  in  renewing 
the  aristocracy,  altered  its  character  and  weakened  it.  Among  the 
numerous  edicts  of  Philip  V.,  those  which  organized  the  militia, 
the  chambers  of  the  exchequer,  the  administration  of  the  forests 
and  the  office  of  the  collectors,  indicate  the  progress  of  order  and 
the  substitution  of  the  despotism  supported  by  law  for  the  despotism 
sustained  by  the  sword. 

Philip  V.  had  one  son  and  four  daughters.  His  son  died  before 
him,  and,  as  his  daughters  were  excluded  from  the  throne  by  the 
Salic  Law.  his  brother  Cliarles  inherited  the  scepter.  He  issued 
ordinances  for  the  i)urpose  of  ameliorating  the  lot  of  the  lepers  and 


REACTION     A  G  A  T  X  S  T     F  E  U  D  A  T.  I  S  Af       91 

1322-1328 

Jews.     There  are  few  things  besides  in  his  reign  that  history  has 
handed  down  to  ns. 

While  the  civil  war  desolated  luigland.  Charles,  at  the  instiga- 
tion of  his  sister  Isabella,  wife  of  Edward  II.,  usurped  the  rights 
of  that  prince  in  Aquitaine.  The  English  monarch  sent  his  son  to 
him,  in  order  to  pay  him  homage.  Charles  held  back  the  young 
prince  at  his  court,  as  a  hostage,  and  furnished  soldiers  and  money 
to  his  sister,  in  order  to  fight  against  her  husband.  That  unfortu- 
nate king  was  made  prisoner,  and  shortly  afterwards  a  frightful 
death  put  an  end  to  his  days.  Charles  IV.  fell  ill  at  this  period, 
and  died  on  Christmas  Day,  in  the  same  year,  1328,  carried  off, 
like  his  brothers,  in  the  vigor  of  his  life. 


Chapter   VI 

THE    HUNDRED   YEARS'   WAR.     1328-1422. 

WITH  the  new  reign  commenced  a  long  series  of  disas- 
trous wars  between  England  and  France,  filling  a  cen- 
tury and  known  in  history  as  the  "  Hundred  Years' 
War."  The  immediate  cause  of  the  war  was  the  question  as  to 
whether  a  Frenchman  or  an  Englishman  should  sit  upon  the  throne 
of  France:  as  to  whether  France  should  govern  itself  or  should  be 
governed  from  England. 

Jeanne  d'Evreux,  widow  of  Charles  IV.,  gave  birth  to  a  daugh- 
ter after  tlie  king's  death,  and.  according  to  the  will  of  the  late 
king,  which  provided  for  this  contingency,  Parlement  was  sum- 
moned to  decide  between  the  candidates  for  the  throne.  The  prin- 
cipals were  Philip  of  Valois,  grandson  of  Philip  the  Bold,  and  cousin- 
german  of  the  last  three  kings  of  France,  and  Edward  III.,  King  of 
England,  son  of  Isabella,  sister  of  those  princes.  The  right  of 
Edward  to  succeed  through  his  mother  was  declared  to  be  invalid. 
but  the  English  monarch,  dissatisfied  with  the  decision  of  the  French 
Parlement.  declared  that  he  would  sustain  his  right  with  the  sword. 
Many  years,  however,  rolled  away  before  he  declared  war  against 
Philip  of  Valois.  and  in  the  meantime  he  still  paid  him  homage  for 
the  fiefs  which  he  possessed  in  France. 

Philip,  Count  of  Evreux.  another  grandson  of  Philip  the  Bold, 
and  husband  of  Jeanne,  daughter  of  Louis  X..  the  eldest  of  the  last 
three  Capetians,  was  the  third  candidate  for  the  crown.  He 
received  fnjm  the  monarch  the  kingdom  of  Xavarre,  to  which  his 
wife  had  legitimate  rights  through  her  grandfather,  and  which  was 
also  detached  from  the  crown  of  France.  But  the  royal  domain, 
by  the  accession  of  Philip  of  Valois,  gained  the  county  of  Valois,  as 
well  as  tlie  provinces  of  Alaine  and  x-\njou.  which  had  been  ceded 
by  the  Ibjuse  of  Anjou  to  the  House  of  Valois.  under  Philip  IV. 

Phih'p  \T.  was  thirty-six  years  old  when,  in  1328,  he  was  recog- 
nized as  king.  1'his  ])rince  was  brave,  violent,  vindictive,  and  cruel, 
skillful  in  all  muscular  exercises,  but  ignorant  of  the  first  notions 

9-2 


HUNDRED     YEARS'     WAR  03 

1328-1341 

of  "the  military  art  and  of  financial  administration.  The  first  act  of 
his  reign  was, an  expedition  into  Flanders  to  assist  Count  Louis, 
who  was  always  at  war  with  his  subjects.  The  bloody  battle  of 
Cassel,  where  some  twelve  thousand  Flemings  were  slaughtered, 
restored  to  the  count  his  states.  The  issue  of  a  scandalous  lawsuit 
caused  the  first  germs  of  discord  to  spring  up  between  I'^dward  III. 
and  Philip  VL  Robert  of  Artois.  brother-in-law  of  Philip,  had 
vainly  bribed  witnesses,  in  order  to  obtain  from  the  king  and  Par- 
lement  that  the  county  of  Artois,  adjudicated  to  his  aunt  ^lahaut, 
should  be  given  up  to  him.  Robert  was  banished  and  his  posses- 
sions confiscated.  The  superstitious  monarch  was  led  to  believe 
that  Robert  was  seeking  to  compass  his  death  by  witchcraft,  and 
the  latter,  through  fear  of  the  king's  vengeance,  was  compelled  to 
find  an  asylum  with  Edward,  whom  he  was  constantly  urging  to 
make  war  on  Philip. 

The  cruelties  of  the  Count  of  Flanders  had  again  caused  a 
revolt  among  his  subjects.  Ghent  had  risen,  and  placerl  itself  under 
the  celebrated  master  weaver  and  merchant,  Jacques  of  Artevelt, 
who  w'as  the  soul  of  a  new  league  against  Count  Louis  and  France. 
Having  need  of  the  support  of  England,  Artevelt,  in  the  name  of 
the  Flemings,  recognized  Edward  as  the  King  of  France.  The 
Ene^lish  king-  soon  after  entered  Flanders  at  the  head  of  an  armv 
and  confirmed  all  the  privileges  of  the  Flemings.  Philip  sustained 
against  him,  with  superior  forces,  a  defensive  warfare,  refusing  to 
engage  in  any  general  acticm.  The  English,  nevertheless,  took  the 
French  fleet  by  surprise,  shut  up  in  a  narrow  creek  near  I^.clusc. 
and  obtained  a  complete  victory  (1340).  France  lost  one  hundred 
and  seventy  vessels  and  more  than  twenty  thousand  men.  This 
battle  was  followed  by  an  armistice  between  the  two  nations  for  a 

year. 

A  bloody  war  broke  out  in  the  following  year  in  Brittany. 
John  HL,  duke  of  that  province,  had  died  without  issue,  and  the 
right  of  succession  was  disputed  by  Charles  of  Blois,  husliand  of  one 
of  his  nieces  and  nephew  of  the  King  of  France,  and  .MontfiMl, 
conqueror  of  the  Albigenses,  who  was  the  younger  brnthcr  of  lIk- 
last  duke,  and  had  been  disinherited  by  him.  Montfort  immediately 
made  himself  master  of  the  strongest  places,  an.d  rendered  honiagc 
for  Brittany  to  King  Edward,  whose  assistance  he  inii)l(M-ed.  'J^he 
court  of  peers  adjudged  the  duchy  to  Charles  of  Blois.  This  war. 
in  which  Charles  of  Blois  was  supported  by  1' ranee  and  Mont  fori 


94.  FRANCE 

1341-1346 

by  England,  lasted  for  twenty-four  years  without  interruption,  and 
presented,  in  the  midst  of  heroic  actions,  a  long  course  of  treacheries 
and  atrocious  robberies,  among  which  the  most  notorious  was  the 
murder  of  Oliver  Clisson  and  fourteen  other  nobles  of  Brittany, 
partisans  of  ]\Iontfort,  who  had  been  invited  to  a  tournament  by 
the  king  and  there  arrested.  Montfort's  party  appealed  to  Edward 
to  avenge  this  act  of  perfidy,  and  in  the  year  following  an  Eng- 
lish army,  commanded  by  Edward,  disembarked  in  Normandy  and 
ravaged  the  kingdom  without  obstacle  until  they  arrived  beneath 
the  walls  of  Paris. 

Philip,  appealing  to  all  the  nobility  of  France,  assembled  around 
him  a  formidable  army,  before  which  Edward  retired.  The  retreat 
of  the  English  was  difficult.  Very  inferior  in  numbers  to  the 
French,  they  passed  over  the  Somme  at  the  ford  of  Blanchetache, 
and,  compelled  to  fight,  they  fortified  themselves  upon  a  hill  which 
commanded  the  village  of  Cressy,  and  there  placed  cannons,  which 
were  then  for  the  first  time  used  in  European  armies  ( 1346).  They 
produced  much  smoke  and  noise  and  did  little  harm.  The  French 
had  come  by  forced  marches.  If  they  had  taken  some  repose,  by 
prudent  arrangements,  victory  would  have  been  assured  to  them, 
but  the  impatient  Philip,  who  had  scarcely  arrived  in  sight  of  the 
enemy,  ordered  an  attack  to  be  made  by  his  Genoese  archers,  who 
formed  the  advanced  guard.  They  endeavored  vainly  to  make  him 
observe  that  tliey  were  exhausted  by  hunger  and  fatigue,  and  that 
the  rain  liad  rendered  their  crossbows  useless.  He  renewed  the 
order;  they  advanced  witli  bravery  and  were  repulsed.  Philip, 
furious,  caused  them  to  be  massacred,  and  his  brother,  the  Duke  of 
Alenqon.  trod  them  down  under  the  hoofs  of  his  cavalry.  This 
ferocious  act  caused  the  loss  of  the  army.  The  English  took  advan- 
tage of  the  confusion  in  the  front  ranks  and  rushed  upon  them,  and 
the  advanced  guard  was  thrown  back  upon  the  general  body  of  the 
army,  where  a  frightful  carnage  took  place.  Three  thousand  eight 
hundred  Frenchmen  lost  their  lives,  and  among  them  eleven  princes, 
twelve  hundred  nobles  or  knights,  and  the  chivalrous  King  of 
Bohemia,  allied  with  Philip,  who,  although  blind,  caused  himself 
to  be  led  into  the  miflst  of  the  affray  in  order  to  perish  valiantly. 
The  celebrated  Black  I'rince,  fifteen  years  of  age,  commanded  the 
English,  under  King  Edward,  his  father,  and  contributed  to  the 
victory.  Philip,  twice  wounded,  was  forced  from  the  field  of  bat- 
tle, accompanied  by  a  few  knights  and  sergeants  at  anns. 


HUNDRED     YEARS'     WAR  95 

1346-1350  "^ 

The  taking  of  Calais  was  one  of  the  most  fatal  results  of  the 
defeat  of  Cressy.  The  inhahitants  of  that  town,  reduced  by  famine 
to  capitulate  after  eleven  months  of  courageous  defense,  were  sum- 
moned to  deliver  up  to  Edward  six  persons  from  among  tliem  who 
should  suffer  for  the  rest.  On  this  the  Sieur  Eustache  de  Saint- 
Pierre  and  five  others  offered  themselves  for  deatli  to  appease  tlic 
wrath  of  Edward,  and  the  whole  six,  with  ropes  nnmd  their  necks 
and  bearing  the  keys  of  the  town,  were  conducted  by  the  governor. 
John  of  Vienne,  to  the  English  camp.  Edward,  on  seeing  tlicm. 
called  for  the  executioner;  but  the  queen  interceded  for  them  and 
obtained  their  pardon.  All  the  inhabitants  of  Calais  were  driven 
from  the  town,  which  became  an  English  colony;  and  for  two  Imn- 
dred  years  it  was  an  entrance  place  into  J^^rance  for  foreign  armies. 
The  capture  of  this  important  place  was  followed  by  a  truce  between 
the  two  monarchs. 

The  disasters  of  the  war  took  away  nothing  from  the  pride 
or  the  magnificence  of  Philip  of  Valois.  To  replcnisli  his  tre:isurv 
he  altered  the  coinage  and  caused  new  taxes  to  be  sanctioned,  among 
which  was  the  tax  called  la  gabcllc,  transferring  to  the  fiscal  pcnver 
the  monopoly  of  salt  throughout  all  the  kingdom.  T^liili]^  VI.  also 
rendered  the  power  of  the  inquisition  formidable  in  France;  never- 
theless, he  authorized  the  appeals  from  abuse  of  the  ecclesiastical 
tribunals  to  the  Parlement.  In  1350  he  married  the  young  l>lanche 
of  Navarre,  sister  of  King  Charles,  surnamed  the  Bad.  and  died  in 
less  than  a  month  afterwards,  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight  years.  lie 
had  bought  the  seigniory  of  Montpellier,  for  120.000  ecus,  fnMU 
James  II.,  last  King  of  Majorca,  and  acquired  from  Humbert  11. 
the  province  of  Daupln'ne,  which  was  given  in  appanage  to  tlie  eldest 
sons  of  the  kings  of  France,  h^rom  that  time  they  bore  the  name 
of  dauphins.  The  frontiers  of  the  kingdom  were  thus  extended 
as  far  as  the  Alps. 

John  was  more  than  thirty  years  of  age  when,  in  1350,  he  suc- 
ceeded his  father.  His  education,  alt]iough  it  had  been  carefully 
conducted,  had  made  him  more  a  valiant  kniglit  tlian  a  wise  and 
experienced  king.  Impetuous  in  character,  irresolute  in  mind,  rash 
rather  than  brave,  prodigal,  obstinate,  vindictive  and  full  of  pride, 
perfectly  instructed  in  the  laws  of  chivalry  and  iguf^-ant  of  the 
duties  of  the  throne,  he  was  always  ready  to  sacrifice  to  tlie 
prejudices  of  honor,  as  then  understood,  the  rights  of  his  subjects 
and  the  interests  of  the  state.     iM-ance  was  exhausted  at  tlie  time 


98  FRANC  E 

1355-1356 

This  act  of  violence  drew  clown  great  misfortunes  on  the 
kingdom.  Philip  of  Xavarre,  father  of  King  Charles,  and 
Geoffroy  of  Harcourt,  nncle  of  the  beheaded  count,  immediately 
united  themselves  with  the  King  of  England  and  recognized  him  as 
the  King  of  France.  Edward  proclaimed  himself  the  avenger  of 
the  executed  gentlemen.  He  sent  a  formidable  army  into  Nor- 
mandy, while  the  Prince  of  Wales  ravaged  Auvergne,  Limousin, 
and  Berry,  and  approached  Tours.  John  called  together  all  his 
nobility.  The  army  assembled  in  haste  in  the  plains  of  Chartres 
and  overtook  the  English  in  the  neighborhood  of  Poictiers  (1356). 
The  Black  Prince  had  only  ten  thousand  soldiers,  and  he  saw 
before  him  an  army  of  fifty  thousand  men,  among  whom,  besides 
the  King  of  France  and  his  four  sons,  there  were  twenty-six  dukes, 
or  counts,  and  a  hundred  and  forty  knights  banneret.  He  fixed  his 
camp  at  jMaupertuis,  two  leagues  north  of  Poictiers,  upon  a  hill 
whose  sides  were  covered  with  hedges,  bushes  and  vines,  imprac- 
ticable for  cavalr)^  and  favorable  to  sharpshooters.  He  concealed 
his  archers  in  tlie  bushes,  dug  ditches  and  surrounded  himself  with 
palisades  and  wagons.  In  fact  he  converted  his  camp  into  a  great 
redoubt,  open  only  in  the  center  by  a  narrow  defile,  which  was  lined 
by  a  double  hedge,  x-^xt  the  top  of  this  defile  was  the  little  English 
army,  crowded  together  and  protected  on  every  side.  There  was, 
moreover,  an  ambuscade  of  six  hundred  knights  and  archers  be- 
hind a  small  hill  Vv'hich  separated  the  two  armies.  The  French 
army  was  disposed  in  three  battalions.  The  left  and  most  ad- 
vanced wing  was  commanded  by  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  brother  of 
the  king;  the  center,  somewhat  further  back,  by  the  sons  of  the 
king;  the  right  wing,  or  reserve,  by  the  king  himself.  As  the  bat- 
tle was  about  to  begin,  the  Cardinal  de  Perigord  endeavored  in 
vain  to  act  as  a  mediator.  An  agreement  was  impossible  and  the 
fighting  began. 

A  corps  of  three  hundred  French  men-at-arms  rushed  into  the 
defile;  a  shower  of  arrows  destroyed  it.  The  corps  which  followed, 
disturbed  by  this  attack,  threw  itself  back  upon  the  left  wing  and 
threw  it  into  disorder.  This  was  only  a  combat  of  the  advanced 
guard,  but  the  English  ambuscade  throwing  itself  suddenly  upon 
the  center  division,  that  also  was  seized  with  panic  and  terror  and 
took  to  flight  witliout  having  fought.  The  left  wing  took  refuge, 
in  disorder,  behind  the  division  of  the  king,  which  was  already 
in  trouble,  but  intact.     The  English  went  out  from  the  defile  t« 


HUNDRED     YEARS'     WAR  99 

1356-1357 

good  order,  and,  advancing  into  the  plain,  found  l)cf(.a-e  Ihcm  that 
division  where  were  the  king,  his  youngest  son.  and  his  hrilliant 
company  of  nobles.  The  French  had  still  the  advantage  over  their 
enemies,  who  were  very  inferior  to  them  in  numbers,  but  John, 
remembering  to  his  misfortune  that  the  disaster  at  Cressy  had 
been  caused  by  the  French  cavalry,  cried  out,  "  On  foot !  on  foot ! " 
He  himself  descended  from  his  horse  and  placed  himself  at  the 
head  of  his  own  men,  a  battle-ax  in  his  hand.  The  engagement 
was  fierce  and  bloody.  The  French  knights,  unable  to  struggle 
on  foot  against  the  great  horses  of  the  English  and  the  arrows  of 
the  archers,  fought  until  they  were  all  killed  or  taken.  The  king 
remained  almost  alone,  with  bare  head,  wounded,  intrepid,  figlitlng 
bravely  with  his  ax,  accompanied  by  his  young  son,  who  parried 
the  blows  of  his  enemies.  He  was  obliged  to  surrender  to  the 
Black  Prince.  Such  was  the  disastrous  issue  of  the  celebrated 
battle  of  Poictiers. 

The  dauphin,  already  named  by  his  father  lieutenant-general 
of  the  kingdom,  assembled  at  Paris  in  the  same  year  the  Estates 
of  the  Langue  d'Oil. 

Eight  hundred  deputies  w^ere  sent  to  the  assembly,  which  was 
presided  over  by  Charles  de  Blois,  Duke  of  Brittany.  On  the  de- 
mand for  fresh  subsidies,  they  answ-ered  by  the  election  of  several 
commissioners,  taken  from  each  order,  who  demanded  the  power 
to  bring  to  judgment  the  counselors  of  the  king  and  the  creation 
of  a  permanent  council  of  four  prelates,  twelve  knights,  and  twelve 
bourgeois,  in  order  to  assist  the  young  regent.  LJpon  these  condi- 
tions they  agreed  to  furnish  an  army  of  thirty  thousand  men.  But 
the  dauphin  was  not  disposed  to  comply  with  them,  and  at  last 
the  assembly  separated  without  obtaining  anything  or  granting 
anything. 

Desolation  then  reigned  supreme  throughout  France.  Com- 
m.erce  was  annihilated;  the  soldiers,  disbanded  and  without  pay. 
ravaged  the  country;  the  fields  remained  uncultivated;  the  over- 
crowded towns  were  distressed  by  famine;  while  the  l-:ng]ish 
were  approaching  the  gates  of  Paris.  Nothing  remained  lor 
the  dauphin  but  to  summon  the  Estates-General  once  more  in 
1357,  but  the  new  Estates  reproduced  the  requests  of  the  precc.lmg 
assembly,  adding  to  them  other  pretensions  and  forcing  u|)()n  him 
all  their  demands.  In  exchange  for  a  subsidy  destined  to  furnisii 
thirty  thousand  men,  and  which  was  to  be  collected  and  managed 


100  F  R  A  N  C  E 

1357 

not  by  the  people  of  the  king,  but  by  those  of  the  Estates,  the 
dauphin  engaged  solemnly  to  turn  aside  nothing  for  his  personal 
interest  from  the  money  consecrated  to  the  defense  of  the  kingdom, 
to  refuse  every  letter  of  pardon  for  atrocious  crimes,  no  more  to 
sell  or  farm  out  the  offices  of  judicature,  to  establish  good  money, 
and  to  bring  about  no  further  change  without  the  consent  of  the 
three  Estates ;  such  v.ere,  in  brief,  the  principal  dispositions  of  the 
celebrated  ordinance  of  1357.  The  dauphin  swore  besides  that  he 
would  conclude  no  truce  without  the  sanction  of  the  Estates,  and 
that  he  would  dismiss  as  "  unworthy  of  all  charge,"  twenty-two 
counselors,  to  whom  public  hatred  attributed  all  the  misfortunes  of 
the  country. 

King  John  had  been  conducted  from  Poictiers  to  Bordeaux, 
thence  to  London,  and  during  the  negotiations  on  the  subject  of 
his  ransom,  a  truce  of  two  years  was  concluded  between  England 
and  France.  About  the  same  time  the  death  of  Geoffroy  of  Har- 
court  freed  the  dauphin  from  an  implacable  foe.  Charles  breathed 
again.  He  had  only  given  way  by  constraint  to  the  wish  of  the 
Estates,  and  he  now  repudiated  all  the  promises  that  he  had  made, 
retaining  the  ministers  whom  he  had  promised  to  dismiss  and 
prosecute. 

The  new  Estates,  convened  jointly  by  the  dauphin  and  Marcel, 
the  celebrated  provost,  or  chief,  of  the  merchants  of  Paris,  assem- 
bled on  November  17,  1357,  but  among  the  members  were 
found  only  deputies  for  the  cities.  Marcel,  as  the  dauphin  braved 
public  opinion  by  drawing  nearer  to  his  person  the  ministers  and 
great  officers  condemned  by  the  preceding  Estates,  and  threatened 
to  reestablish  all  the  former  abuses,  had  recourse  to  violent  meas- 
ures. He  made  the  Parisians  adopt  a  national  color,  and  gave  them 
for  a  rallying  sign  a  red  and  blue  hood,  tlie  colors  of  the  town  of 
Paris.  Ife  appeared,  followed  by  armed  men,  before  the  dauphin, 
and  caused  to  be  massacred  in  his  presence  the  Lord  of  Conflans, 
marshal  of  Champagne,  and  Robert  of  Clermont,  marshal  of  Nor- 
mandy, hotli  of  wliom  had  been  proscribed  by  the  Estates.  The 
dauphin  begged  his  life  from  Marcel,  who  placed  upon  his  head 
the  red  and  blue  hood  and  conducted  him  to  the  Hotel  de  Ville 
under  the  safeguard  of  the  popular  colors.  Marcel  was  king  in 
Paris. 

The  nobility  and  clergy,  however,  were  indignant  at  seeing 
the  despised  bourgeois  exercising  a  power  equal  to  their  own,  and 


HUNDRED     YEARS'     WAR  U)l 

1357-1360 

the  murder  of  the  marshals  caused  (Hscord  to  hreak  out.  The  no- 
bles of  Champag-ne  assembled  and  demanded  venq-cance  tmm  the 
dauphin,  who  called  together  the  Estates  at  Compicj^ne,  far  from 
the  center  of  agitation.  The  nobility  alone  presented  themselves 
in  great  numbers  and  the  reaction  became  imminent.  Alarcel  fore- 
saw the  storm  and  prepared  for  tlie  comljat.  lie  attacked  the 
Louvre,  then  out  of  the  capital,  and  took  possession  of  it :  he  united 
the  town  with  the  chateau  and  fortified  the  precinct  within  the 
walls.  The  regent  called  round  him  the  nobility,  and  assembled 
seven  thousand  lancers;  while,  by  the  advice  oi  Marcel,  tlie  bour- 
geois of  Paris  took  as  their  captain-general  the  King  of  Navarre, 
whom  John  de  Pequigny  had  rescued  by  force  of  arms  froiri  tlie 
castle  of  Arloux,  where  he  had  1)cen  detained  a  prisoner  by  King 
John.  Civil  war  commenced,  and  with  it  a  new  scourge  showed 
itself  (1358). 

The  country  people,  powerless  against  the  oppression  which 
presented  itself  on  every  side,  overcharged  witli  taxes,  (lcs])ised  by 
the  bourgeois,  pillaged  by  the  soldiers,  suffered  at  this  ])criod  froiu 
intolerable  evils.  In  the  Beauvais  they  arose  in  a  mass  against 
the  nobles,  pillaging  and  burning  their  castles.  This  rising  rccei\cd 
in  history  the  name  of  "  the  Jacquerie."  It  was  soon  Mi])prcssed. 
The  nobility,  invincible  under  its  iron  armor,  exterminated  the 
peasants  without  mercy.  Dispersed  before  ^leaux,  they  nearly 
all  perished,  and  the  plains  throughout  many  provinces  became 
deserted. 

Paris  was  then  besieged  by  the  army  of  the  dauphiji.  The 
bourgeois  suspected  Charles  the  Bad  of  treachery,  and  dismissed 
him.  Soon  the  peril  of  the  capital  became  extreme,  and  Cliarlcs 
was  invited  back  by  Marcel,  who  half  promised  Ut  proclaim  Irin 
King  of  France.  The  King  of  Navarre  acce])tcd  the  offer,  bin  the 
execution  of  Marcel's  ]}lan  was  frustrated  by  the  murder  of  the 
provost.  The  death  of  Alarcel  smoothed  the  way  for  tlio  ny^y-n. 
who  entered  Paris  as  a  conqueror,  but  conducted  himself  with 
wisdom  and  moderation. 

The  celebrated  l^reaty  of  Bretigny.  near  Chartres,  tcrminaicd 
at  last  the  hostilities  between  France  and  l-^ngland.  Its  ])rincipal 
articles  declared  that  Guienne,  Poitou,  south  Gascony,  I'onihieu. 
Calais,  and  some  fiefs  should  remain  entirely  in  the  possession  of 
the  King  of  England;  that  Edward  should  renounce  liis  j^retcnsions 
to  the  crown  of  France,  to  Normandy.  Brittany,  Elaine,  Touraine, 


102  FRANCE 

1360-1364 

and  Anjoii.  possessed  by  his  ancestors;  and  that  John  should  pay 
three  millions  of  gold  crowns  for  his  ransom.  The  two  sovereigns 
confirmed  this  treaty  at  Calais  in  1360. 

Great  calamities  followed  the  deliverance  of  King  John.  The 
people  were  laid  under  arbitrary  taxation,  and  their  misery  in- 
creased; the  fields  remained  uncultivated;  and  famine,  followed  by 
a  plague  of  three  years'  duration,  devastated  the  kingdom. 

In  the  midst  of  so  many  evils  a  happy  circumstance  occurred 
for  France.  John  acquired  Burgundy  by  the  death  of  Philip,  the 
last  duke,  whom  he  succeeded  as  next  of  kin.  This  province  he 
ga\-e  as  an  appanage  to  his  fourth  son,  Philip,  whose  valorous  con- 
duct at  Poictiers  had  gained  for  him  the  surname  of  "  the  Bold  " 
and  the  paternal  predilection.  Thus  the  second  House  of  Burgundy 
was  founded,  which  rendered  itself  so  formidable  in  France. 
While  contemplating  a  new  crusade  in  conjunction  with  the  King 
of  Cyprus,  John  learned  that  his  son,  the  Duke  of  Anjou,  had 
fled  from  England,  where  he  had  left  him  as  a  hostage.  Impatient 
to  show  that  he  had  no  participation  whatever  in  his  son's  act,  he 
demanded  a  safe  conduct,  obtained  it,  and  returned  to  England, 
where  he  died  in  1364. 

When  Charles  V.  ascended  the  throne,  in  1364,  he  was  twenty- 
nine  years  of  age.  He  had  already  governed  France  for  nearly 
eight  years.  Nothing  then  announced  in  him  the  restorer  of  the 
monarchy.  Not  much  esteemed  by  the  nobility,  hated  by  the 
bourgeoisie,  weak  in  body  and  of  a  sickly  constitution,  everything 
appeared  likely  to  become  an  obstacle  during  his  reign.  And  yet, 
by  his  address  and  prudence  more  than  by  great  talent,  he  was 
enabled  to  reconquer  a  large  part  of  the  provinces  which  his 
father  had  lost. 

Nothing  threw  more  brilliancy  upon  the  reign  of  Charles  V., 
and  contributed  more  to  his  success,  than  the  illustrious  Bertrand 
du  Guesclin.  A  Breton  nobleman,  w^ith  no  personal  advantages, 
accomplishments,  or  fortune,  of  a  mind  so  little  opened  that  he 
could  never  learn  to  read,  he  had  nothing  apparently  of  that  which 
announces  a  hero,  except  his  valor  and  skill  in  the  management 
of  arms. 

His  first  exploit  for  Charles  was  a  victory.  The  town  of 
Mantes,  which  belonged  to  the  King  of  Navarre,  and  that  of 
Meulan  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  French.  The  lord,  or 
seignior,  of  Buch,  a  brave  Gascon  captain  in  the  service  of  Charles 


HUNDRED     YEARS'     WAR  103 

1364-1367 

the  Bad,  made  arrangements  in  order  to  take  his  reveng-e,  and 
awaited  the  French  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cocherel.  near  Evreux 
(1364).  Here  Du  Gueschn.  who  had  not  liis  equal  in  strategems 
of  war,  drew  the  enemy  into  an  ambuscade  by  a  feigned  retreat, 
and  routed  them.  The  lord  and  his  followers  fouglit  bravely,  but 
victory  inclined  to  the  French,  and  the  lord  was  taken  prisoner.  The 
men  of  Navarre,  without  a  chief,  dispersed,  only  a  small  number 
contriving  to  escape.  The  victory  of  Cocherel  placed  in  submission 
to  Charles  V.  nearly  the  whole  of  Normandy.  He  received  the 
news  at  Rheims,  in  the  midst  of  the  fetes  of  his  coronation,  and 
recompensed  Du  Guesclin  by  the  gift  of  the  county  of  Longue- 
ville. 

The  twenty-four  years'  war  in  Brittany  lietween  the  son  of 
John  de  Montfort,  allied  with  the  English,  and  Charles  de  Blois. 
sustained  by  France,  was  brought  to  an  end  by  the  battle  of  Aurai. 
wdien  the  latter  was  slain.  This  battle  was  soon  followed  by  the 
Treaty  of  Guerande,  which  assured  the  duchy  of  Brittany  to  Mont- 
fort (1365).  Charles  V.  found  himself  at  last  at  peace  with  all 
his  neighbors.  His  people  began  to  breathe  again,  and  order  and 
peace  existed  once  more.  But  the  companies  of  adventurers  con- 
sisting of  men  who  lived  by  war  and  were  ever  ready  to  sell  their 
services  to  the  highest  bidder,  those  brigands  who  considered 
themselves  as  belonging  to  no  country,  suddenly  found  themselves 
without  employment  as  soon  as  France  was  at  ])cace,  and  liegan  io 
commit  frightful  ravages  throughcmt  the  country.  The  kmg,  un- 
able to  exterminate  them,  was  compelled  to  employ  them,  and  lie 
sent  them  under  the  command  of  Du  Guesclin  against  Peter,  King 
of  Castile,  surnamed  the  Cruel,  who.  it  was  rei)orte(l,  had  poisoned 
his  wife,  Blanche  of  Bourbon,  a  relation  of  the  King  of  France,  and 
ordered  the  murder  of  his  natural  brotlicr.  Henry  of  Transtamare. 
who  had  implored  Charles  V.  to  assist  him  and  place  him  nn  his 
brother's  throne.  These  terrible  adventurers  entered  Spain,  and 
the  troops  of  Peter  disbanded  theniscKes  before  them.  'J'hat 
prince,  repulsed  by  his  subjects,  abandoned  his  throne  to  his  rival, 
and  retired  to  the  court  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  who  received  him 
at  Bordeaux  with  great  honors,  and  Henry  took  possession  of  the 
crown  of  Castile  without  obstacle.  But  Peter  solicited  snccor_  from 
the  English,  and  the  Prince  of  Wales  armed  in  his  fav()r  without 
breaking  with  France.  The  great  companies  who  had  just  estal)- 
lished  Transtamare  on  the  throne    turned  now  to  the  side  of  his 


104)  FRANC  E 

1367-1375 

brother,  drawn  by  the  appetite  for  gold  which  he  promised  them. 
Du  GuescHn  sup]X)rted  Transtamare,  but  the  latter  was  conquered 
by  the  Prince  of  Wales  at  the  battle  of  Navarette  (1367),  and  Du 
Guesclin  was  made  prisoner.  Peter  the  Cruel  recovered  his  king- 
dom, and  his  brother  sought  refuge  wdth  the  Duke  of  Anjou,  eldest 
of  the  brothers  of  Charles  V.  and  commandant  of  Languedoc. 

Du  Guesclin,  ransomed  by  Charles  V.,  who  sent  him  anew 
into  Spain  at  the  head  of  his  army,  by  the  victory  of  Montiel 
(1369)  replaced  Transtamare,  for  a  second  time,  upon  the  throne 
of  Castile.  Peter  the  Cruel  was  made  prisoner.  On  meeting,  the 
rival  brothers  engaged  in  a  deadly  combat,  and  Peter  died,  stabbed 
by  the  hand  of  Henry. 

At  this  period  Charles  contemplated  the  recovery  of  those 
provinces  which  had  been  ceded  to  the  English  by  his  father,  and 
fomented  revolt  in  all  the  provinces  given  over  to  England  by  the 
Treaty  of  Brctigny.  A  rising  broke  out  in  Gascony  on  the  occasion 
of  a  hearth-tax,  an  imposition  established  by  the  English  prince 
upon  each  fire.  The  Gascons  appealed  to  the  King-  of  France,  as 
sovereign  of  Guienne  and  of  Gascony,  and  Charles  V.,  in  contempt 
of  the  Treaty  of  Bretigny,  which  granted  these  provinces  in  com- 
])lete  sovereignty  to  Edward,  received  their  appeal,  and  caused  the 
Black  Prince  to  be  summoned  before  the  chamber  of  peers  as  his 
subject.  The  Prince  of  Wales  disregarded  the  summons,  and  the 
court  of  peers  issued,  in  1370,  a  decision  declaring  that,  in  default 
of  having  appeared  before  it,  Edward  was  deprived  of  his  rights 
with  regard  to  Aquitaine  and  his  other  possessions  in  France,  and 
confiscated  them  to  the  profit  of  the  crown.  The  English  monarch, 
justly  indignant,  assembled  a  powerful  army,  which  disembarked 
at  Calais,  under  the  command  of  the  Duke  of  Lancaster.  Charles 
V.  orderetl  his  generals  to  watch  the  enemy,  to  impede  his  move- 
ments, and  to  decline  to  give  battle.  His  orders  were  obeyed;  and 
Lancaster  was  allowed  to  makediis  way  to  Paris,  where  his  army 
arrived  exhausted  and  almost  destroyed  by  disease,  fatigue,  and 
scarcity  of  ])r(nisi()ns.  The  fortune  of  England  tottered:  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  whose  last  sad  exploit  was  the  sack  of  Limoges, 
had  just  died;  b'.dward's  fleet  had  been  conquered  at  Rochelle  by 
the  navy  (jf  C'astile;  his  powerful  army  had  consumed  itself;  al- 
ready tlie  fruits  of  tlie  victory  of  Poictiers  were  lost  to  him  and 
b^rance  had  recovered  nearly  all  its  provinces.  The  old  king,  so 
formidable  in  times  of  old  and  now  so  humiliated,  signed  the  Truce 


HUNDRED     YEARS'     WAR  10.5 

1375-1380 

of  Bruges  with  Charles  V.  (1375),  and  shortly  afterwards  died. 
leaving  the  throne  to  his  grandson,  the  unfortunate  Kicliard  II. 

Freed  from  his  most  dangerous  enemy,  Charles  abandoned 
himself  to  his  revenge  against  liis  brother-indaw,  Charles  the  IJad, 
then  in  Spain,  where  he  meditated  an  alliance  with  England.  Tie 
compelled  the  son  of  that  prince,  who  had  come  without  disirnst 
to  his  court,  to  sign  an  order  which  gave  over  to  the  Frencli  all 
the  places  possessed  by  his  father  in  Xormandy.  Rernay,  l-'.vrcux-, 
Pont-Audemer,  Avranches.  ]\Tortain,  Analogues  opcnerl  their  gates ; 
and  in  Normandy  the  town  of  Cherbourg  alone  belonged  to  tb.e 
King  of  Navarre,  who  was  thus  all  but  expelled  from  his  Norman 
possessions. 

The  end  of  Charles's  reign  was  not  free  from  storms.  The 
king  saw  awakening  round  him  in  all  directions  symptoms  of  that 
fermentation,  of  that  liberal  tendency  in  men's  minds,  which  lie 
had  always  taken  great  care  to  suppress.  New  sects  were  f(Trmed, 
and  the  great  schism  of  the  West  stimulated  throughout  Europe  tlic 
spirit  of  doubt  and  of  inquiry. 

Gregory  XI.  died  in  1378  at  Anagni,  and  the  College  of 
Cardinals  at  Rome  gave  him  for  a  successor  Rartholomew 
Prignano,  who  took  the  name  of  l>ban  VL  11ie  Erench  cardi- 
nals, opponents  of  the  new  Pope,  declared  that  his  election  was 
illegal,  and  chose  Robert  of  Geneva,  who  took  tlie  name  of  Clement 
VII.,  and  took  up  his  residence  at  Avignon.  Such  was  tlic  origin 
of  the  famous  schism  of  the  West.  Euroi)e  was  divided  between 
the  two  rival  Popes.  Charles  V.  declared  himself  for  Clement. 
who  resided  in  France;  his  allies,  the  scwereigns  of  Xa])les,  ot 
Castile  and  Aragon,  followed  In's  examjde.  Idie  i)arty  of  CrlKin 
VI.  was  embraced  by  England,  Bohemia,  ITungar}-,  Portugal,  and 
Flanders. 

The  symptoms  of  agitation  thus  visil)ly  arising  were  not  tlic 
only  alarming  movements  which  he  saw  in  his  latter  years,  (^m- 
queror  of  the  English  witbiout  having  fonght  them,  he  thor.ght 
himself  master  enough  over  the  minds  of  the  Bretons  to  conliscate 
their  province,  which  liad  been  secured  to  John  of  Mont  fort  by  the 
Treaty  of  Guerancle,  and  to  unite  it  to  his  domain.  Cliarlcs  \'.  did 
not  gather  any  fruit  from  this  unjust  act.  The  inhabitants  of  that 
country  rose  to  a  man  in  defense  of  the  rights  of  their  duke:  tlic 
brave  Breton  captains  left  the  royal  army;  and  even  Du  C.ueschn. 
ahvays  faithful  to  the  king,  disapproved  of  his  course  and  soug!it 


106  FRANCE 

1380-1382 

to  retire  to  Spain  in  order  to  die  there,  feeling-  that  he  could  no 
longer  act  as  constable  of  France.  His  resignation  of  the  office  that 
he  had  held  with  honor  for  so  many  years  was  prevented,  however, 
by  his  death,  which  was  occasioned  by  a  fatal  malady,  in  i3cSo, 
before  Chatean-Randon,  in  Gevaiidan. 

Charles  persevered  in  his  objects  of  usurpation,  but  his  troops 
were  driven  from  Brittany,  and  he  met  everywhere  with  the  same 
unanimity  against  himself  which  a  short  time  ago  had  been  shown 
in  his  favor  against  the  English.  Louis,  Count  of  Flanders,  also 
solicited  assistance  at  the  same  time  against  his  revolted  subjects. 
A  formidable  rising-  also  broke  out  in  Languedoc,  where  the  Duke 
of  Anjou,  brother  of  the  king,  crushed  the  people  by  an  intolerable 
oppression,  Charles  was  compelled  to  recall  his  brother,  and  took 
his  government  from  him.  He,  lastly,  saw  the  King  of  Navarre 
give  up  Cherbourg  to  the  English,  and  a  new  English  army  fall 
upon  the  kingdom.  He  ordered  that  it  should  be  received  in  the 
same  manner  as  that  which  preceded  it.  In  the  meanwhile  he 
died  at  his  castle  of  Beauty,  on  the  Marne,  on  September  i6, 
1380,  at  the  age  of  forty-four  years. 

Charles  VI.  had  arrived  at  the  age  of  eleven  years  and  some 
months  when  his  father  died.  His  uncles,  the  Dukes  of  Anjou, 
Berry.  Burgundy,  and  Bourbon,  disputed  among-  themselves  con- 
cerning his  guardianship  and  the  regency.  They  agreed  to  emanci- 
pate the  young  king  immediately  after  his  coronation,  which  was 
to  take  place  at  once,  and  the  regency  was  to  remain  until  that 
period  in  the  hands  of  the  eldest,  the  Duke  of  Anjou,  whose  first 
act  was  to  appropriate  the  treasure  amassed  by  the  late  king. 
Nature  had  endowed  Charles  VI.  with  amiable  qualities,  but  his 
uncles  vied  with  each  other  in  stifling  his  happy  disposition,  bent 
on  persuading  him  that  the  most  glorious  triumphs  for  a  king  are 
those  which  he  gains  over  his  own  subjects.  A  wise  administra- 
tion could  have  closed  the  wounds  of  the  people.  The  English 
army  conducted  into  Brittany  by  Buckingham  w^as  dissolved, 
and  the  sixteen  millions  left  by  Charles  V.  would  have  been  more 
than  sufficient  to  free  France  from  the  foreigners.  But  tlie  Duke 
of  Anjou,  adoptcfl  by  Jeanne  of  Naples  as  her  successor,  and  im- 
patient to  ])e  seated  on  her  throne,  had  reserved  this  treasure  to  de- 
fray the  expenses  of  an  expedition  against  Charles  of  Durazzo,  his 
rival.  He  raised  a  numerous  army;  it  perished  in  Italy,  destroyed 
by  privations,   fatigue,  and  disease,  and  he  himself  died  miserably 


II  T^  X  I)  R  T-:  D     Y  E  A  H  S  '     W  A  R  1 07 

1382-1384 

in  the  country  which  he  had  come  to  conquer.  The  he.q-Inning  of 
this  reign  was  signaHzed  by  popular  movements.  A  report  had 
spread  about  that  the  late  king  on  his  deathbed  had  decreed  aboli- 
tion of  all  the  taxes,  and,  fearing  an  insurrection,  the  governing 
princes  issued  a  decree  abolishing  in  perpetuity  the  established 
taxes  that  had  existed  since  the  time  of  Philip  the  Fair.  How- 
ever, it  was  necessary  to  provide  for  the  cost  of  the  war  against 
England  and  for  other  expenses,  and  it  was  determined  to  re- 
establish a  tax  upon  merchandise  of  every  kind.  Immediately  a 
formidable  tumult  broke  out.  The  Parisians  ran  to  the  arsenal, 
wdiere  they  found  mallets  of  lead  intended  for  the  defense  of  the 
town ;  and.  under  the  blows  from  these  manv  Jews  and  collectors 
of  the  new  tax  perished.  From  th.e  weapons  used  the  insurgents 
took  the  name  of  "  ]\Iaillotins.''  Rheims,  Chalons,  Orleans,  Bids. 
and  Rouen  followed  the  example  of  the  capital.  The  dukes,  j^ow- 
erless  to  make  the  Parisians  submit,  treated  with  them,  and 
contented  themselves  with  the  offer  of  eighty  thousand  livres. 

In  1382  war  broke  out  between  l-'rance  and  Flanders.  Count 
Louis  of  Flanders,  dri-\-en  away  bv  his  people,  whose  municipal 
franchises  he  had  violated  every  day,  now  burning  with  a  desire 
to  avenge  himself,  obtained  the  support  of  Charles  VI.,  and  a  large 
army  was  sent  into  Flanders  under  Clisson,  who  was  appointed 
constable.  The  Flemings,  fifty  thousand  strong,  under  Phili]:) 
Artevelt,  son  of  the  famous  merchant  who  was  leader  of  the  sedi- 
tion in  1336,  met  the  French  near  Rosebek.  and  were  utterly  de- 
feated and  lost  their  leaders.  Courtray  was  given  over  to  jMllage 
and  totally  destroyed.  The  victorious  army  returned  to  Paris;  the 
moment  for  striking  the  rebels  had  arrived.  The  Parisians  ])er- 
ceived  that  defense  was  impossible,  and  received  the  order  to  lay 
down  their  arms.  The  young  king  of  fourteen  years  entered  the 
town  as  an  irritated  coufpieror,  and  ])roceede(l  to  take  vengeance 
on  the  inhabitants.  ]\Iany  were  executed.  The  wealth  of  the 
bourgeoisie  was  confiscated,  all  the  ta\c>  were  reestablished,  and 
Paris  lost  its  mtmicipal  privileges,  together  with  llie  right  of  elect- 
ing its  provost  and  civil  magistrates.  Rouen  and  other  towns  that 
had  followed  the  lead  of  the  cai)ital  were  treated  in  a  similar  manner. 

The  Flemings,  who,  though  crushed,  were  not  coiKiucred, 
sought  the  aid  of  Richard  II.  of  I'jigland.  who  sent  an  army  into 
Flanders.  The  English  tr()oi)s  sacked  the  towns  whicli  were  oc- 
cupied by  French  garrisons,  contrary  to  the  wish  of  their  mhab- 


108  F  R  A  N  C  E 

1332-1392 

itants.  Charles  VI.  marched  forward  to  meet  the  English,  and 
Flanders  became  a  theater  of  incendiarism  and  murder.  At  last 
both  parties,  tired  of  tlie  strife,  commenced  to  treat  for  peace. 
The  Count  of  Flanders  alone,  furious  against  the  town  of  Ghent 
for  its  prolonged  resistance,  impeded  the  negotiations,  but  his 
deatli  put  an  end  to  hostilities.  A  truce  was  signed  in  1384,  and 
Flanders  passed  to  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  who  had  married 
r^Iarguerite,  heiress  to  that  powerful  county.  Ghent  submitted  to 
that  prince  in  the  following  year,  and  preserved  all  its  franchises. 

In  1386  Charles  assembled  a  large  army,  gathered  a  great 
sum  of  money,  and  made  immense  preparations  for  a  descent  upon 
England,  but  the  expedition  w-as  abandoned  by  the  advice  of  the 
Duke  of  Berry.  The  supplies  were  abandoned  to  the  pillage  of 
the  chiefs  of  the  army,  and  three  millions  of  livres  were  thus  lost 
without  profit  either  to  the  king  or  to  the  nation.  Two  years  later 
Charles,  always  enamored  of  war,  and  directed  by  his  uncles,  sus- 
tained the  Duke  of  Brabant,  and  made  war  for  him,  without  suc- 
cess, against  the  Duke  of  Gueldres.  Harassed  and  pursued  by 
German  marauders,  his  army  returned  to  France  in  distress  and 
burdened  with  humiliations.  The  eyes  of  the  king  were  at  length 
opened  by  the  Cardinal  of  Laon  and  other  ancient  counselors  of 
his  father,  who  advised  him  to  assume  the  government  himself. 
Charles  permitted  himself  to  be  convinced,  and,  in  a  great  coun- 
cil, he  signified  to  his  uncles  that  for  the  future  he  alone  would 
govern.  This  unexpected  declaration  announced  a  happy  revolu- 
tion for  the  nation  at  large,  and  Charles  VI.  then  turned  himself 
to  wise  measures  in  the  interests  of  the  people.  He  would  have 
done  much  more  in  the  same  direction  if  he  had  had  more  knowl- 
edge and  less  taste  for  pleasure.  The  king  now  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  the  interior  of  the  kingdom  and  undertook  a  journey  to 
the  south  of  France.  He  found  Languedoc  wasted  and  depopu- 
lated through  the  barbarity  of  the  Duke  of  Berry,  whom  Charles 
dismissed  from  his  government.  Fie  afterwards  freed  the  province 
from  the  l)rigands  who  infested  it.  Lastly,  interesting  himself  in 
the  progress  of  the  morality  of  the  people  and  in  military  instruc- 
tion, he  closed  the  gaming-houses  and  opened  everywhere  shoot- 
ing-grounds for  the  bow  and  the  crossbow.  These  happy  omens 
of  a  better  future  were  of  short  duration.  The  assassination  of 
the  Constable  of  Clisson,  chief  of  the  government,  was  attempted 
l)v  brigands  in  the  ])av  of  Alontfort,  Duke  of  Brittany,  his  mortal 


HUNDRED     YEARS'     WAR  lOU 

1392-1396 

enemy.  Clisson  did  not  die  from  his  wounds,  and  the  king,  in  a 
fury,  swore  to  avenge  him.  Tie  commanded  the  duke  to  dehvtr 
up  Craon,  the  chief  of  tlie  assassins,  who  had  taken  refuge  witli 
him.  Montfort  refused,  and  Charles  marched  into  Brittany,  lie 
went  out  from  Mans,  at  tlie  head  of  lu's  troops,  in  July,  1392,  but 
on  the  march  he  was  suddenly  stricken  witli  insanity. 

Then  commenced  the  third  and  fatal  epoch  of  that  disastrous 
reign.  The  faction  of  the  dukes  again  seized  power.  Tlie  Duke 
of  Burgundy  took  possession  of  the  right  of  the  royal  signature 
and  exercised  sole  authority;  the  council  of  the  king  was  broken 
up;  the  constable  took  flight  and  retired  into  Brittany,  where  he 
recommenced  the  war  against  Montfort;  the  Jews  were  driven 
from  the  kingdom ;  the  shooting-grounds  for  the  crossbow  were 
closed  and  the  gambling-houses  opened.  Such  were  the  first  deeds 
which  signalized  that  trying  period.  S(v>n  after,  frightful  dis- 
sensions broke  out  among  the  princes  themselves,  and.  as  no  funda- 
mental law  existed  which  could  regulate  th.e  future  of  the  monarchy 
and  decide  between  so  many  rival  pretensions,  the  fate  of  the  state 
was  abandoned  to  a  royal  council  which  was  ruled  l)y  the  uncles  of 
the  king,  his  wife,  the  Queen  Tsabelle.  of  IViVc'iria.  a  frix-DidUS  ruid 
money-loving  woman,  and.  lastly,  by  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  brother 
of  the  king,  who  was  as  despotic  and  avaricious  as  his  uncles. 
Charles  was  still  considered  to  be  reigning,  but  always  subservient 
to  the  dominant  party.  He  ap]Kared  to  employ  liis  few  glimmer- 
ings of  reason  only  in  sanctioning  the  most  tyrannical  acts  and 
the  most  odious  abuses.  It  was  in  this  manner  that  the  Idngdom 
of  France  was  governed  during  twenty-eight  years. 

The  unhappy  monarch  attributed  his  disease  to  the  schism 
wdiich  desolated  Christianity,  and  believed  himself  jjunishcd  by 
Heaven  for  having  neglected  to  extinguish,  it.  Benedict  XI 11.  had 
replaced  the  anti-pope.  Clement  VH.  In  vain  the  king  urged  him 
and  the  legitimately-elected  Pope.  Boniface  IX.,  t(>  a  niiunal  cc- 
sion.  To  add  to  the  disorder  in  Christendom,  thai  was  induced  1)_\- 
the  quarrel  of  the  rival  Popes  and  their  partisans,  tlie  ( ircek  lunpiro 
and  Plungary  were  invaded  by  the  ferocious  Sultan  r.a\e/.id.  Sigis- 
mund,  afterwards  emperor  and  tiicn  king  of  Hungary.  re(|ucsted 
assistance  from  France.  A  brilliant  army  of  ten  thousand  set  out 
under  the  orders  of  the  Count  of  Xevers,  eldest  sou  o\  the  Duke 
of  Burgundy,  but  under  the  walls  of  Xicoj)oIis  (  130'').  m  '>i''- 
earia    the  Christian  armv  was  exterminated  by  Bavezid,  and  the 


110  FRANCE 

1396-1411 

conqueror  only  spared  the  lives  of  twenty  princes  and  high  nobles, 
for  whom  he  hoped  to  receive  immense  ransoms. 

It  was  in  the  interest  of  the  council  of  the  King  of  France  to 
keep  on  good  terms  with  Plenry  IV.,  who  was  now  reigning  in 
England  in  room  of  his  cousin,  Richard  II.,  who  had  been  deposed 
and  murdered,  but  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  whose  influence  increased 
every  day,  was  bent  upon  exciting  his  anger  by  deadly  insults.  He 
broke  the  truce  and  let  loose  the  most  frightful  calamities  upon  the 
kingdom.  This  prince,  after  the  death  of  his  uncle,  Philip  the 
Bold,  Duke  of  Burgundy,  in  1404,  exercised  without  curb  an  ab- 
solute power,  but  soon  met  with  a  formidable  rival  in  the  new  Duke 
of  Burgundy,  the  same  John,  Count  of  Nevers,  who  was  conquered 
at  Nicopolis,  a  vindictive,  cruel  and  ambitious  prince,  fatal  to  his 
race  and  his  country.  He  arrived  from  his  county  of  Flanders  at 
the  head  of  an  army.  At  his  approach  the  queen  and  the  Duke  of 
Orleans  retired  to  Melun,  but  Burgundy  seized  the  royal  princes  and 
princesses  and  guarded  them  in  Paris,  where  he  flattered  the  popular 
passions.  His  rival  assembled  troops,  and  civil  war  was  on  the 
point  of  breaking  out,  when  the  two  enemies  were  apparently  recon- 
ciled. On  the  following  day  the  startling  news  was  spread  that  the 
Duke  of  Orleans  had  been  assassinated.  The  Duke  of  Burgundy 
acknowledged  his  responsibility  for  the  murder  and  was  expelled 
from  the  council.  Master  of  Paris,  no  one  dared  to  speak  openly 
against  him,  and  his  crime,  indeed,  was  publicly  vindicated  before 
the  court  on  the  ground  that  the  Duke  of  Orleans  was  deservedly 
put  to  death  for  tyranny.  The  murderer  only  consented  at  a  later 
period  to  demand  the  pardon  of  the  king  and  of  the  young  princes 
of  Orleans ;  peace  was  sworn  between  them  at  Chartres,  and  the 
bad  faith  of  those  who  signed  the  treaty  caused  it  to  receive  the 
name  of  the  "  Underhand  Peace."  A  slight  calm  succeeded  these 
storms.  But  soon  the  members  of  the  council,  jealous  of  the  ever- 
increasing  popularity  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  and  disquieted 
about  their  own  safety,  quitted  Paris  and  rejoined  at  Gien  the  young 
pri]ices  of  Orleans,  of  whom  the  eldest  married  the  daughter  of 
Count  Bernard  of  yVrmagnac.  This  pitiless  man  became  the  chief 
of  the  Armagnac  party,  as  it  was  called,  and,  at  the  head  of  an 
army  of  Gascons,  marched  on  Paris.  A  frightful  war,  interrupted 
by  truces  violated  on  both  sides,  commenced  between  the  party  of 
Armagnac  and  that  of  Burgundy.  Both  sides  appealed  to  the 
English,  and  sold  France  to  them.     The  Armagnacs  pillaged  and 


H  U  N  D  R  E  U     Y  E  A  R  S  '     W  A  R  111 

1411-1415 

ravaged  the  environs  of  Paris  with  unheard  of  crueUies,  while  the 
"  Cabochiens,','  or  corps  of  butchers,  enrolled  by  the  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy, and  so  called  from  Jolin  Caboche.  their  cliief.  caused  the 
capital  they  defended  to  tremble.  The  Mstates-Gcncral,  convcjked 
for  the  first  time  in  thirty  year^.  were  dumb,  and  the  butchers  made 
the  laws.  They  pillaged,  imprisoned  and  slaughtered  with  im- 
punity, according  to  their  savage  fury,  and  found  judges  to  con- 
demn their  victims.  They  besieged  in  his  hotel  the  Duke  of 
Guienne,  dauphin  of  France,  threatened  him  with  death,  and  mur- 
dered his  friends  and  favorites.  The  king,  always  a  slave  to  the 
party  which  ruled  near  him.  approved  ;uk1  sanctioned,  without  un- 
derstanding all  these  excesses,  which  terrified  even  Burgundy  him- 
self. The  reaction  broke  out  at  last.  Tired  of  so  many  atrocities, 
the  bourgeoisie  took  up  arms  and  shook  off  the  yoke  of  the  butchers. 
The  dauphin,  at  the  head  of  the  militia,  went  to  the  Hotel  de  \'illc. 
from  which  place  he  drove  out  Caboche  and  his  brigantls.  The 
counter  revolution  was  established.  Burgundy  departed,  and  the 
power  passed  to  the  Armagnacs.  The  princes  reentered  Paris  and 
induced  the  king  to  declare  war  against  Jolm  the  h^earless.  whose 
instrument  he  had  been  a  short  time  before.  His  army  was  \ic- 
torious,  Burgundy  submitted,  and  the  Treaty  of  Arras  suspended  the 
war,  but  not  the  executions  and  the  ravages. 

Henry  V.,  King  of  England,  judged  this  a  propitious  moment 
to  descend  upon  France.  The  invaders  disembarked  without  obstacle 
at  the  m(juth  of  the  Seine  and  invested  Harlleur,  then  a  t.-wn  of 
great  maritime  importance  and  one  of  the  keys  of  the  kingdom. 
which  only  succumbed  after  a  month  of  heroic  defense.  During 
the  siege  the  English  army  had  suilered  enormous  losses  by  tbsease. 
and  of  thirty  thousand  men  that  Henry  had  brouglu  o\er  not  more 
than  fifteen  thousand  remained.  This  number  was  insufficient  to 
conquer  the  kingdom,  and  Henry,  expecting  to  meet  with  little  or 
no  resistance  on  his  way  on  account  of  the  unsettled  state  of  the 
country,  resolved  to  march  on  Calais,  where  he  reckoned  upon 
halting  and  receiving  reinforcements. 

After  crossing  the  Somme  the  F.nglish  found  a  Fiench  ;irmy 
three  or  four  times  more  numerous,  under  the  Constable  dWlhret 
and  the  Dukes  of  Orleans  and  Bourbon,  awaiting  them  on  the  oilier 
side  of  the  river,  near  to  the  village  of  Azincourt.  The  armies 
passed  the  night  opposite  to  each  other,  the  iM-ench  on  iK^rseback  in 
the  rain.      On  the  side  of  the  English,  whose  peril  was  imminein. 


112  FRANCE 

1415-1418 

everything,  by  order  of  the  king,  was  said  and  done  in  subdued 
tones  and  in  darkness.  Among  the  French,  on  the  contrary,  great 
fires  were  lighted,  and  all  was  noise,  agitation  and  confusion.  The 
English  after  waiting  the  whole  forenoon  for  the  French  to  attack, 
began  the  battle.  The  French  cavalry,  restricted  for  want  of  space, 
dismounted  under  a  shower  of  arrows  and  rushed  upon  the  sharp 
stakes  which  the  English  had  planted.  On  seeing  the  confusion 
in  the  ranks  the  English  issued  from  their  fortified  enclosure  and, 
with  the  king  at  their  head,  penetrated  to  the  middle  of  the  second 
line  of  the  enemy.  The  rearguard  of  the  French  still  remained 
intact,  but  seeing  the  first  two  ranks  overcome,  they  hardly  waited 
for  the  shock,  but  turned  their  bridles  and  fled.  The  battle  was 
finished,  when  someone  came  to  Henry  V.  and  told  him  that  the 
camp  was  attacked  by  a  fresh  army,  and  Henry,  seeing  the  numer- 
ous prisoners  that  he  had  made,  and  for  whom  he  expected  heavy 
ransoms,  ordered  that  all  the  captives  should  be  put  to  death.  The 
alarm  was  found  to  be  false,  but  already  nearly  all  had  perished. 
Extended  on  the  field  of  battle  might  be  seen  seven  thousand  French, 
nearly  all  nobles.  Among  the  few  surviving  prisoners  were  the 
Marshal  of  Boucicaut,  the  Counts  of  Eu,  Vendome,  and  Richemont, 
and  the  Dukes  of  Bourbon  and  Orleans.  The  conqueror  king, 
master  of  the  sad  field,  cast  his  eyes  slowly  around  him,  and  having 
asked  tlie  name  of  a  neighboring  chateau,  was  told  that  it  was  Azin- 
court.  "  Well,''  said  he,  "  this  battle  shall  take  the  name  of 
Azincourt,  now  and  forever." 

In  Paris,  more  terrible  than  before,  civil  war  broke  out.  The 
Count  of  Armagnac.  appointed  constable,  reigned  by  terror  only. 
The  Queen  Isabelle  of  Bavaria  alone  could  equal  the  authority  of 
Armagnac ;  she  was  sent  into  exile  by  her  husband  to  Tours.  Bur- 
gundy took  away  the  queen  from  her  guardians  and  proclaimed  her 
regent.  Soon  after,  the  Burgundians  entered  F*aris.  from  which  place 
the  provost,  Tanneguy-Duchatel,  carried  off  the  young  dauphin, 
Charles,  the  last  and  only  surviving  son  of  the  king.  The  populace 
rose  again  under  the  leadership  of  the  executioner,  Capeluche ;  they 
seized  the  Count  of  Armagnac  with  his  partisans,  and  put  them  to 
death.  The  queen,  Isabelle,  brought  back  by  the  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy, made  her  tr!uni})hal  entry  into  the  town  sullied  by  so  many 
horrors,  and  took  in  hand  the  sovereign  authority.  The  faction  of 
Orleans  then  conducted  the  dauphin  to  Poictiers  and  recognized  him 
as  regent. 


H  U  N  D  R  K  I)     V  E  A  R  S  ^     \V  Ail  11 S 

1418-1422 

Henry  V.  pursued  his  ravag-es  into  the  licart  of  the  kinj^dcjni. 
He  had  entirely  conquered  Normandy;  Rouen  also  had  fallen  into 
his  power.  The  French  j)rinces  seemed  at  last  to  perceive  the  neces- 
sity of  union.  The  dauphin  had  api)ointe(l  an  interview  v.ith  tlie 
Duke  of  Burgundy  en  the  bridge  of  Alontereau ;  the  duke,  after 
hesitating  for  a  long-  time,  presented  himself.  Angry  words  were 
exchang'ed,  hands  sought  the  hilts  oi  swords,  hut  before  blood  had 
been  shed  Duchatel  led  the  dauphin  away.  A  few  minutes  later 
the  duke  fell,  bleeding  from  many  wounds.  This  mur<ler  made 
peace  impossible.  Philip  the  Good,  the  new  Duke  of  Kurgundy.  in 
order  to  avenge  his  father,  (jffered  the  ciown  to  ilenrv  \'.,  ;in<l  the 
queen  negotiated  between  her  insane  husbcmd  and  Henry  \'.  the 
shameful  Treaty  of  Tnjyes,  signed  in  1420,  b\-  which,  in  contempi 
of  the  rights  of  the  royal  princes  of  hVance,  the  crown  was  be- 
stowed in  perpetuity  on  Henry  and  his  descend.ants.  This  treaty. 
which  could  not  go  into  effect  until  the  death  (^f  King  Charles  VI., 
was  immediately  sealed  by  the  marriage  of  her  daughter  to  Henry, 
to  whom  the  regency  of  the  kingdom  during  the  malady  of  the  king 
was  entrusted.  The  treaty  was  solemnly  ajtjiroNed  of  by  the 
Estates-General,  convoked  in  the  capital  and  presided  o\  er  by  the 
king.  The  dauphin,  sixteen  years  of  age.  was  declared  guilty  by 
the  Parlement  of  homicide  on  the  person  of  the  Duke  o\  P)urgun(ly 
and  deprived  of  his  rights  to  the  throne.  He  succeeded,  however,  in 
detaching  Languedoc  from  the  I'.urgundian  ]r<{Yiy  and  in  making 
himself  master  of  the  south  of  iM-ance. 

The  sudden  death  of  Hem-y  V.,  in  1422,  prepared  a  new  des- 
tiny for  the  dauphin.  Charles  '\T.  died  shortly  afterward;  he  had 
occupied  the  throne  for  forty-two  years. 

Catherine  of  Valois.  daughter  of  Charles  \T.  and  wife  of 
Henry  V.,  had  brought  into  the  world  a  scni  who  succeeded  his 
father  in  1422  under  the  name  of  Henry  VT.  1  ie  wa>  then  scarcely 
a  year  old  and  was  crowned  at  I'aris  as  King  of  JM-ance  and  I-jigland. 
The  Duke  of  Bedford,  eldest  brother  of  Henry  V..  gov-incd  tiie 
kingdom  in  the  name  of  his  nephew  and  succeeded  in  attaclnng 
to  himself  the  two  greatest  vassals  of  the  crown,  joh'.i  \1..  Duke  of 
Brittany,  and  Philip  the  Good,  Duke  of  Purgundy.  The  latter,  in 
order  to  avenge  more  surely  his  father's  assassination,  be.-CLnwcd  the 
hand  of  his  sister  on  the  Duke  of  IScdi'ord  and  was  lor  a  long  time 
the  firmest  supporter  of  the  Knglish  in  l*"rruice. 


Chapter    VII 

JOAN    OF   ARC    AND    THE    LIBERATION    OF    FRANCE 

1422-1461 

T?IE  dauphin  Charles,  then  nineteen  years  old,  had  taken, 
immediately  after  the  death  of  his  father,  the  title  of  kin<:^ 
and  resided  at  Bourges  with  the  qneen,  Marie  of  Anjon, 
liis  wife.  His  authority  was  recognized  in  more  than  half  of 
France,  yet  he  made  little  effort  to  exercise  it,  and  his  enemies  con- 
temptuously referred  to  him  as  the  "  King  of  Bourges."  The  sol- 
diers of  the  army  of  Charles  were  for  the  most  part  Scots  and 
Gascons.  His  constable  even,  the  Count  of  Buchan,  was  a  Scotch- 
man, and  the  king,  surrounded  by  savage  men,  appeared  for  a  long 
time  to  take  as  little  interest  as  the  people  themselves  in  his  own 
cause.  The  battle  of  Crevant-sur-Yonne  (1423),  lost  by  his 
troops,  and  that  of  Verneuil  (1424).  still  more  disastrous,  where  the 
constable  perished,  caused  Charles  VH.  to  perceive  the  necessity  of 
having  powerful  supporters.  He  fixed  his  choice  upon  the  famous 
Richemont,  brother  of  the  Duke  of  Brittany,  and  made  him  con- 
stable. Richemont  accepted  only  on  condition  that  the  Armagnacs 
should  be  driven  from  the  court  and  that  Charles  should  separ- 
ate himself  from  the  assassins  of  John  the  Fearless.  Tanneguy- 
Duchatel,  the  most  powerful  and  the  most  guilty,  left  the  first,  and 
hastened  by  his  voluntary  exile  the  useful  bringing  together  of 
Richemont  and  the  king.  Without  character  and  without  will, 
incapable  of  any  serious  occupation,  indolent  and  voluptuous, 
Charles  seemed  incapable  of  doing  anything  to  inspire  confidence 
in  his  supporters:  his  party  was  weakening  every  day,  and  discord 
reigned  in  his  camp.  Already  the  English  threatened  Orleans,  the 
most  important  of  the  towns  still  remaining  faithful;  they  had  made 
themselves  masters  of  the  head  of  the  bridge  and  the  outworks,  not- 
withstanding the  ])ravery  of  La  Llire,  of  Xaintrailles,  of  Gaucourt, 
and  above  all  of  the  famous  Dunois,  bastard  son  of  Orleans,  the  true 
and  brave  defenders  of  the  JM-ench  monarchy.  Lastly,  the  defeat 
of  the  French  at  the  Battle  of  the  Herrings,  in  1429,  appeared  to  give 

114 


JOAN     OF     ARC  115 

1429 

the  finishing-  stroke  to  tlie  fall  of  that  town  and  to  inllict  a  mortal 
wound  upon  the  cause  of  Cliarles. 

But  in  proportion  to  the  new  triumphs  g'ained  by  the  English, 
their  yoke  became  more  intolerable,  and  developed  in  the  kingdom 
a  national  sentiment  capable  of  working  prodigies  if  it  were  set  in 
action  by  hope  and  confidence.  Religious  enthusiasm  mingled  it- 
self in  the  heart  of  the  Frencli,  who,  seeing  in  their  misfortunes  the 
chastisements  of  an  avenging  God,  awaited  the  end  of  their 
sufferings  from  the  Divinity  alone.  Such  were,  in  I4_'9,  the  senti- 
ments of  the  mass  of  tlie  nation,  when  a  young  girl  of  seventeen 
years,  named  Jeanne  (TAcre,  afterwards  called  Joan  of  Arc,  born 
of  poor  parents  in  the  village  of  Donn-emy.  upon  the  frontiers  of 
Lorraine,  announced  that  she  had  received  from  God  a  mission  to 
cause  the  siege  of  Orleans  to  be  raised,  to  conduct  the  dauphin  to 
Rheims  to  his  coronation,  and  to  drive  the  English  from  France. 
She  declared  that  supernatural  voices  had  revealed  to  her  the 
heavenly  will,  and  requested  to  be  led  to  Chinon  to  Gh;irles  VI I. 
"  She  was  a  robust  young  girl  with  brown  hair,  in  whom  feminine 
charm  was  allied  with  masculine  vigor.  She  talked  with  malicious 
humor  and  a  merry  vivacity,  having  a  response  for  everything.  She 
did  not  have  the  somber  rudeness  of  a  Saint  Cath.erine  of  Siem\'i, 
nor  the  languors  of  mystics  burned  by  divine  loxe.  In  the  en- 
thusiastic outbursts  that  raised  her  from  earth  to  heaven,  she  main- 
tained a  solid  good  sense  and  a  fine  sentiment  of  the  reality." 
Brought  into  his  presence,  she  distinguished  him,  it  is  said,  upon 
the  spot,  among  all  his  courtiers,  and  gofng  to  him  she  secretly  an- 
nounced her  mission.  After  submitting  her  ti)  a  series  (jf  interro- 
gations, conducted  by  theologians,  Charles,  i)lacing  faith  in  her 
word,  caused  a  complete  suit  of  armor  to  be  gi\en  to  her.  She 
wished  to  have  a  white  standard  sprinkled  with  llcurs-de-iis.  The 
report  soon  sjM-ead  among  t!;e  two  armies  that  a  being  endowed 
with  supernatural  power  had  come  t-)  figlit  for  Charles  \'!1..  and. 
while  the  French  saw  divine  intervention  in  this  prodigy,  tlie  i'^.ng- 
lish,  stricken  with  terror,  only  wished  to  recognize  in  it  the  in- 
fluence of  the  devil.  For  her  iirst  cxi)loit,  Jeanne,  notwithstanding 
the  strict  blockade,  conducted  into  Orleans  an  army  which  Iiad 
left  Blois,  and  in  a  few  days  Suffold  and  Talbot,  the  gener;ds  of  the 
English  troops  investing  the  city,  were  comi)ellcd  to  raise  the  .Mege 
(1429).  From  that  time  Jeainie,  under  the  name  of  the  Maid  of 
Orleans,  soon  became  celebrated  throtighout  the  whole  king<!.>m. 


116  FRANCE 

1429-1435 

France  awoke,  enthusiasm  gained  men's  hearts,  and  a  crowd  of 
soldiers  rushed  to  join  the  standard  of  Charles.  Everywhere  the 
English  fell  back.  At  last  Jeanne  and  her  army  met  them  and 
defeated  them  with  terrible  slaughter  after  a  long  and  obstinate 
combat  at  Patay,  in  the  plains  of  Beauce  (1429). 

After  this  glorious  battle  Jeanne  d'Arc  went  to  find  the  king 
at  Gien,  and  conjured  him  to  march  boldly  upon  Rheims,  there  to 
cause  himself  to  be  crowned  and  solemnly  to  take  possession  of  his 
kingdom.  Charles  allowed  himself  to  be  persuaded,  and  advanced 
across  Champagne  with  his  army.  Troyes  and  Chalons  opened 
their  gates  to  him,  and  he  arrived  at  last  under  the  walls  of  Rheims, 
at  the  glorious  end  of  his  journey.  The  Burgundian  captains,  who 
commanded  the  town,  evacuated  it  without  giving  battle.  Charles 
on  July  16  made  his  triumphal  entry,  and  the  next  day  he  was 
crowned  in  the  ancient  cathedral.  The  Maid  of  Orleans  placed 
herself  near  to  the  king  and  the  principal  altar  during  the  cere- 
mony, standing  erect  with  her  standard  in  her  hand. 

Jeanne's  mission  was  not  yet  ended.  She  had  come  to  drive 
the  English  from  the  kingdom.  She  continued  to  fight  in  the 
army  of  the  king,  was  wounded  at  the  unfortunate  siege  of  Paris, 
and  lastly  taken  prisoner  in  a  sortie  while  heroically  defending  Com- 
piegne  against  the  English  and  Burgundians.  By  the  English  she 
was  delivered  over  to  the  inquisition,  as  suspected  of  magic  and  sor- 
cery, and  by  her  merciless  judges,  at  the  head  of  whom  was  a  French- 
man, Pierre  Cauchon,  Bishop  of  Beauvais,  who  was  altogether 
devoted  to  the  English  by  vengeance  and  ambition,  she  was  con- 
demned to  be  burned  alive,  and  suffered  with  fortitude  and  resigna- 
tion in  the  market-place  of  Rouen  on  May  30,  143 1. 

Charles  heard  of  her  death  with  indifference.  He  did  nothing 
to  prevent  it  or  to  avenge  it,  and  waited  for  twenty-five  years  before 
ordering  that  tlic  memory  of  the  heroine  should  be  reinstated.  He 
had  again  fallen  into  his  culpable  indolence  and  failed  again  in  his 
fortune,  while  his  captains  fought  separately  as  chiefs  of  partisans; 
they  received  from  him  no  order,  no  pay,  no  support,  and  submitted 
the  country  where  they  ruled  to  frightful  exactions.  The  English, 
however,  were  still  more  odious  to  the  people;  the  foreigners  and 
their  allies,  the  Burgundians,  were  equally  detested,  and  insurrec- 
tions broke  out  in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom.  In  1432,  however,  the 
Duchess  of  Bedford,  sister  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  died,  and  her 
death  broke  the  ties  of  that  duke  with  England.      Burgundy  sacri- 


JOAN     OF    ARC  117 

1435-1449  ' 

ficed  at  last  this  long-  resentment  to  the  interest  of  France  and  Ijc- 
came  reconciled  to  Charles  VII.  in  the  Peace  of  v\rras.  J435.  At 
last  France  was  united,  and  the  maintenance  of  the  F.ngiish  do- 
minion became  impossible.  I\'iris,  after  belongino:  to  tlie  crown  of 
England  for  seventeen  years,  opened  her  gates  to  iier  king,  and  socni 
the  English  only  remained  in  Normandy  and  (nn'cnne. 

After  repressing  the  mercenary  bands  which  infested  and  pil- 
laged many  parts  of  the  kingdom  after  the  long  war,  Cliarlcs  con- 
voked the  Estates-General  at  Orleans,  and  asked  and  obtained  from 
them  a  tax  of  twelve  hundred  thousand  livrcs  for  the  pay  of  a  per- 
manent army  to  insure  the  internal  peace  of  the  country.  Some 
years  later  the  king  completed  the  organization  of  this  army  by  com- 
pelling each  parish  to  furnish,  at  the  king's  call,  a  good  infantry 
soldier  fully  equipped,  and  on  whom  the  military  service  conferred 
several  privileges,  high  pay,  and  exemption  from  taxes.  These  foot 
soldiers  were  called  free  archers.  This  reconstruction  of  the  mil- 
itary system  produced  important  results.  The  king  tluis  obtained 
an  army  always  numerous  and  always  ready  to  concentrate  in  mass 
upon  all  points  menaced  by  revolt  or  war.  d'o  the  Estates-General 
of  1439  must  be  attributed,  in  fact,  the  merit  of  this  creation,  for  it 
was  by  them  that  the  first  necessary  funds  were  granted.  However, 
they  had  only  granted  the  tax  of  twelve  lunidred  thcuisand  livres 
for  one  year ;  the  king  on  his  own  authority  made  it  perpetual.  Thus 
was  established  in  France  illegally  tlie  direct  i)crmanent  tax.  At 
first  it  was  popular,  but  there  were  bad  readjustments  of  the  impost, 
its  amount  was  always  increasing,  and  al)(n-e  all  tlic  inininicrable 
imrnunities  admitted  later  on  in  favor  of  the  privileged  classes  ren- 
dered it  hateful  throughout  the  whole  kingdom.  Under  the  ncvv 
regime  commerce  sprang  up  again,  agriculture  became  tlourisliiug, 
and  the  king  was  hailed  as  the  restorer  of  order.  1'he  niihtary 
aristocracy,  however,  could  not  see,  without  uneasiness,  tlie  progress 
of  the  royal  power,  and  broke  into  a  revolt  under  the  dauphin,  who 
was  afterwards  Louis  XL,  and  the  princes  of  royal  ijluod  and  ilic 
captains  of  the  "  Ecorcheurs  "  offered  themselves.  They  wished  to 
recommence  a  civil  war,  but  Charles  Vll.,  at  the  head  oi  a  tlisci- 
plined  army,  marched  against  the  rebels,  who  one  after  the  otlier 
submitted.  One  only  remained  formidable,  and  that  was  the  prince 
who  was  heir  to  the  crown.  lie  retired  into  Dauphine.  anil  from 
that  time  a  deep  enmity  existed  between  father  and  son. 

After  having  pacified  the  interior,  Charles  VIL,  proliting  by 


118 


FRANCE 


1440-1449 


the  civil  wars  which  were  exhausting  England,  tried  to  expel  the 
enemy  from  the  kingdom.  In  a  year  half  of  the  fortified  places  in 
Normandy  were  reconquered,  and  the  remainder  of  the  province 
suhmitted  to  the  king  after  the  victory  of  Formigny  in  1450. 
Guienne  was  soon  conquered  by  the  victorious  army,  and.  in  1453, 
of  all  its  continental  possessions  England  only  preserved  Calais. 

In  1444  the  Emperor  Frederick  III.  requested  the  support  of 
France  against  the  republican  cantons  of  Switzerland.  The  assist- 
ance of  Charles  VII.  was  equally  solicited  by  Rene,  Duke  of  Lor- 
raine, against  the  free  towns  of  Metz,  Toul,  Verdun,  and  some  other 


>tEDlTEllK^%->iEA.l>l  SEA. 


towns,  which  called  themselves  subjects  of  the  empire.  Charles  VII. 
complied  with  tliese  re([uests  and  sent  two  armies,  one  into  Switzer- 
land and  the  other  into  Lorraine.  The  Dauphin  Louis  commanded 
tlie  llrst,  which  met  and  defeated  that  of  the  Swiss  cantons  at  Saint 
Jac(|ues,  near  Bale.  Struck  with  their  bravery,  the  French  prince 
made  ])eacc  with  them,  and  concluded  an  alliance  with  those  whom 
be  had  \'an(|uislie(l.  The  events  of  the  campaign  in  Lorraine  were 
hltle  dccisi\e.  The  towns  of  Toul  and  Verdun  recognized  the 
king  as  their  protector;  ]\Ietz  resisted,  was  besieged,  and  bought  the 
maintenance  of  its  liberty  by  a  contribution  of  war.     This  rapid 


JOAN     OF    ARC  119 

1449-1457 

campaign  gave  a  proof  of  the  pretensions  of  Charles  VII.  upon  a 
portion  of  Lorraine,  but  there  was  no  other  important  result. 

The  wounds  of  France  closed,  and  prosperity  began  to  spring 
forth  anew.  By  the  king's  care  the  whole  administration  was  re- 
formed. A  special  court,  called  the  court  of  aides,  was  instituted 
for  the  hearing  of  all  criminal  causes  connected  with  the  taxes ;  this 
supreme  jurisdiction  had  soon  numerous  tribunals.  By  the  crea- 
tion of  the  parlement  of  Toulouse,  the  king  restricted  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  that  of  Paris,  which  then  extended  itself  throughout  the 
provinces.  After  having  organized  the  army,  the  treasury  and 
justice,  Charles  occupied  himself  with  the  church  of  France.  It  was 
he  who,  in  1438,  promulgated  solemnly,  before  the  French  clergy  as- 
sembled at  Bourges,  the  pragmatic  sanction,  proclaiming  the  liberties 
of  the  Galilean  church,  such  as  the  council  then  sitting  at  Bale  had 
defined.  It  recognized  the  superiority  of  the  general  councils  over 
the  Pope,  restricted  to  a  small  number  of  cases  the  right  to  appeal 
to  Rome,  forbade  the  publication  of  Papal  bulls  in  the  kingdom  be- 
fore they  had  been  registered  in  Parlement,  deprived  the  Pontifical 
court  of  the  revenue  of  vacant  benefices,  and  entrusted  the  election 
of  the  bishops  to  the  chapters  of  the  churches.  In  these  works, 
which  were  so  important  and  so  diverse,  the  Estates-General  had 
only  a  feeble  part.  Their  last  meeting  had  taken  place  at  Orleans 
in  1439,  and  for  twenty-two  years  Charles  did  not  convoke  them, 
but  was  seconded  in  his  work  by  skillful  counselors,  who,  for  the 
most  part,  had  been  drawn  from  the  ranks  of  the  bourgeoisie. 

Charles  had  become  the  wisest  and  the  most  powerful  monarch 
in  Europe,  but  just  causes  of  distrust  and  resentment  with  regard 
to  the  dauphin  embittered  his  latter  years.  Louis  had  married  as 
his  second  wife,  contrary  to  the  wish  of  his  father,  Charlotte,  daugh- 
ter of  the  Duke  of  Savoy.  The  king  ordered  him  to  come  and 
justify  himself  at  his  court;  but  the  dauphin,  fearing  all  the  coun- 
selors of  his  father  and  not  being  able  to  obtain  surety  for  his 
person,  sought  refugee  in  the  court  of  Burgundy,  where  he  was  re- 
ceived by  Philip  the  Good  and  by  Charles,  his  son,  with  honor  and 
munificence.  The  king  took  possession  of  Dauphine,  and  united 
that  province  to  the  states  which  were  held  directly  from  the  crown. 
The  dauphin  had  implored  the  pardon  of  his  father,  but  the  king 
knew  his  false  and  perverse  heart,  and  vainly  requested  that  he 
would  ask  for  forgiveness  in  j^erson.  Unfortunately,  a  formidable 
example  had  recently  increased  the  distrust  of  his  son.      The  Duke 


120  FRANCE 

1457-1461 

of  AlenQon,  prince  of  the  royal  blood,  accused  by  the  king  of  treason 
and  of  complicity  with  iuigland,  had  been  condemned  to  death  by 
the  peers  of  h" ranee.  Charles  commuted  the  punishment  and  caused 
the  prince  to  be  shut  up  in  a  tower  of  the  Louvre;  the  dauphin  de- 
clined to  expose  himself  to  a  similar  chastisement.  The  king  from 
that  time  believed  himself  to  be  beset  by  the  emissaries  of  his  son. 
At  last,  fearing  that  he  would  be  poisoned  by  them,  and  suffering 
besides  from  an  abscess  in  the  mouth,  he  refused  all  nourishment 
and  allowed  himself  to  die  of  hunger.  He  expired  on  July  22, 
1461,  in  his  fifty-eighth  year. 


Chapter   VIII 


TERRITORIAL    UNITY    AND   WARS    IN    ITALY 
1461-1547 

LOUIS  XI.  was  thirty-ei|^ht  years  old  when  he  mounted 
the  throne.  "  The  new  king  was  awkward  and  feeble 
-/  in  appearance.  His  face,  with  its  brilliantly  piercing 
eyes,  was  disfigured  by  a  hooked  nose,  excessively  long.  His 
legs  were  slim  and  deformed,  his  gait  uncertain.  He  dressed 
very  simply  and  wore  an  old  pilgrim's  hat,  ornamented  solely 
with  a  sacred  medal  of  lead.  When  he  entered  Abbeville  in  com- 
pany with  the  fastidious  Philip  the  Good,  simple  people  who  had 
never  seen  the  king  marveled  at  his  appearance  and  exclaimed, 
'Bless  us!  and  is  that  the  King  of  France,  the  greatest  king 
of  the  world?  His  whole  outfit  is  not  worth  twenty  francs — 
horse,  clothes,  and  all.'  "  This  prince,  who  from  being  a  fugi- 
tive became  a  king,  was  informed  of  the  plots  hatched  against 
him  in  the  court  of  his  father,  and  also  of  the  hatred  which 
the  most  influential  men  in  the  kingdom  bore  him.  He  believed  that 
he  had  need  of  the  support  of  the  people  against  his  enemies,  and 
promised  at  his  accession  to  diminish  the  taxes.  But  his  liberalities 
towards  those  whom  he  wished  to  gain  exhausted  the  treasury  and 
the  taxes  were  augmented.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  his  reign  was  the 
abolition  of  the  pragmatic  sanction.  Being  passionately  fond  of 
the  chase,  he  forbade  that  sport  in  the  royal  forests,  much  to  the 
annoyance  of  the  nobility.  Economical  himself,  and  strict  in  tlie 
administration  of  finances,  he  did  not  permit  them  to  be  pillaged  by 
the  princes  of  his  family.  His  yoke  bore  equally  upon  all;  his  ac- 
tive vigilance  surveyed  at  the  same  time  each  part  of  the  kingdom, 
and  he  would  not  sufi^er  any  tyrant  in  the  country  but  himself.  The 
irritation  became  general,  and  the  princes  and  nobles  leagued  them- 
selves against  Louis  XI.  He,  in  seeking  to  divide  his  two  most 
formidable  neighbors,  Francis  II.,  Duke  of  Brittany,  and  the  Count 
of  Charolais,  son  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  excited  them  against 

121 


122 


FRANCE 


1464-1463 

himself.  He  had  perfidiously  given  to  both  of  them  the  govern- 
ment of  Normandy,  in  the  hope  of  seeing  them  dispute :  however, 
they  united  against  him.  The  resentment  of  the  Count  of  Charolais, 
afterwards  known  in  history  as  Charles  the  Rash,  w^as,  however, 
more  vehement,  because  Louis  had  been  loaded  with  benefits  by 
Philip  tlie  Good,  his  father.  It  was  around  him  and  the  Duke  of 
Brittany  that  the  princes  of  the  royal  blood  rallied,  together  with 
the  great  nobles  who  were  discontented.  They  assumed  the  name 
of  tlie  League  of  the  Public  Good,  and  placed  at  their  head  the  Duke 
of  Berry,  Charles  of  France,  brother  of  the  king,  wdio  claimed  Nor- 


mandy from  him  as  an  appanage.  The  bloody  battle  of  ]\Iontlhery 
(14O5J,  where  Louis  left  the  field  of  battle  to  the  Count  of  Char- 
olais, was  soon  followed  by  the  rising  of  Normandy  in  favor  of  the 
princes. 

The  king,  seeing  himself  the  weaker,  laid  down  his  arms  and 
had  recourse  to  negotiations.  He  signed,  in  1465,  the  Treaty  of 
Conflans,  by  which  he  gave  Normandy  to  his  brother,  and  satisfied 
the  exorbitant  prctcnsifjns  of  the  princes.  Louis  ceded  to  them 
towns,  vast  domains,  and  governments,  and  piled  up  dignities  up(»n 
the  rebel  nojjlcs.  But  Louis  only  gave  with  one  hand  to  take  back 
with  the  other  wlicn  the  moment  should  arrive.  He  convoked  tlie 
Estates-Ciencral  at  1".  .urs  in  146S,  and  by  representing  that  those 
who  had  ])een  in  league  against  him  only  sought  to  enfeeble  the 
state  by  dismembering  it,  he  persuaded  the  Estates  to  annul  the 


Loris    xi    oi'    ikAM  i;.    i\     I'Kisox    .\r    I'F.unxM:.    \()\\s     iiii-:    i;i<i;(  i  lox 

OF      A      XE'.V        (  III   K(    li     III     rHK    MdTllF.K     OI-    (,nii    1 1-    SIIF — l(iK    WIID.M 

JIE    HAS    DOXK    Sit    MICH V.II.I,    XOW      KK1'A\     niK    llFliT    ]'.\     HF1.I'IX(; 

HIM    OLT    OF    H  L-^    1)1  FFHF  I.TI  KS 

I'liiiiliuii   hy    llrniunn:    l\\iiilh,ir/i 


TERRITORIAL     UNITY  123 

1468-1470 

Treaty  of  Conflaiis,  retaking  Normandy  from  Charles  of  France. 
Louis,  having  obtained  from  them  ah  that  he  wished,  was  anxions 
to  (hsmiss  them.  They  only  remained  in  assembly  for  eight  days; 
and  it  was  remarked,  as  a  symptom  of  the  progress  of  the  bonr- 
geoisie,  that  the  three  orders  had  voted  in  common.  This  was  the 
only  convocation  of  the  Estates-General  under  this  reign. 

Charles  of  France,  irritated  at  losing  Normandy,  united  again 
with  the  Duke  of  Brittany  and  with  Charles  the  Rash,  who  had 
become  Duke  of  Burgundy  by  the  death  of  Philip  the  Good,  his 
father.  Louis  foresaw  their  attack.  He  marched  unexpectedly 
against  the  Duke  of  Brittanv,  who,  separted  from  his  allies,  and 
seized  with  fear,  submitted  by  the  Treaty  of  Ancenis. 

The  king  then  sought  to  gain  over  his  people.  He  gave  char- 
ters to  many  of  the  towns,  protected  commerce  by  wise  ordinances, 
and  reorganized  the  national  militia  of  Paris,  to  which  he  gave  the 
right  to  elect  its  own  officers.  Louis  endeavored  afterwards  to  find 
allies  in  the  states  of  his  most  powerful  enemy.  The  manufactur- 
ing towns  of  Flanders  were  prompt  to  revolt  against  the  cruel  vio- 
lences of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  their  sovereign.  Louis  sent  an 
emissary  into  Liege,  and  excited  it  to  revolt,  promising  his  support. 
In  the  meantime,  to  prevent  war  he  demanded  from  the  duke  a  safe- 
conduct,  and  went  to  consult  with  him  at  Peronne.  Scarcely  had 
he  arrived  when  the  revolt  of  Liege  broke  out,  Charles  learned 
that  the  bishop,  Louis  of  Bourbon,  his  relation  and  his  ally,  was 
massacred,  and  that  Louis  XL  was  the  author  of  the  sedition.  At 
this  news  his  rage  knew  no  bounds ;  he  held  the  king  prisoner,  and 
threatened  to  kill  him.  Louis,  in  order  to  get  out  of  his  peril, 
signed  the  Treaty  of  Peronne,  which  limited  his  so\'ereignty  in  the 
states  of  Burgundy,  and  promised  to  give  to  his  brother,  Charles, 
Champagne  and  Brie  as  an  appanage. 

England  was  then  desolated  by  the  War  of  the  Roses.  Louis 
XL,  having  taken  the  side  of  the  red  rose,  united  against  Edward 
IV.,  with  his  relative  Margaret  of  Anjou,  wife  of  Henry  VI.  Ed- 
ward, conquered,  retired  to  Holland,  and  implored  the  assistance  of 
Duke  Charles,  his  brother-in-law.  Louis,  without  anxiety  on  the 
part  of  England,  followed  up  his  advantages.  He  caused  the  Treaty 
of  Peronne  to  be  annulled  by  the  inhabitants,  under  the  pretext  that 
Charles  had  only  imposed  it  upon  him  by  causing  him  to  break  his 
word.  Louis,  in  disengaging  himself  from  his  obligations,  created 
for  himself  new  dangers,      Edward  IV.,  assisted  by  Charles  the 


124  FRANCE 

1470-1476 

Rash,  had  regained  liis  crown;  Henry  VI.  and  his  son  were  assas- 
sinated ;  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  called  into  France  the  English  mon- 
arch, and  ])r()mised  Mary,  his  daughter  and  heiress,  to  Charles  of 
France,  Duke  of  Guienne,  who  had  recently  received  that  province 
from  Louis  XI.  as  an  appanage;  and  the  Duke  of  Brittany  renewed 
his  intrigues.  The  king  thus  saw'  himself  threatened  with  a  new 
storm,  when  his  brother  fell  ill,  and  died  after  some  months  of 
suffering,  poisoned,  it  is  believed,  by  Louis.  The  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy soon  caused  his  troops  to  march  into  Picardy,  and  spread 
terror  before  his  steps.  The  king,  howe\er,  negotiated  separately 
with  each  of  the  rebellious  princes,  and  by  his  maneuvers  spread 
discord  among  the  chiefs  of  the  league.  The  Duke  of  Brittany 
signed  a  new  truce,  and  the  Duke  of  Alenqon,  at  the  instigation  of 
the  king,  was  tried,  and  condemned  to  death  for  the  second  time, 
by  the  Parlement  of  Paris. 

Edward  IV^.,  King  of  England,  drawn  over  by  the  Duke  of 
Brittany,  w-as  then  in  France  with  a  numerous  army.  Charles,  his 
ally,  seconded  him  badly,  and  Louis  XL,  always  more  prompt  to 
negotiate  than  to  fight,  gained  by  his  bribes  the  confidence  of  King 
lulward,  and  was  prompt  in  signing  with  him  a  truce  of  seven 
years  (  1475).  Charles,  abandoned  by  the  English,  also  signed  with 
Louis  a  truce  for  nine  years.  Each  of  these  two  enemies  sacrificed 
on  that  occasion  those  on  whom  his  adversary  wished  to  take  ven- 
geance ;  Charles  delivered  to  the  scaffold  the  Constable  Saint  Pol ; 
Louis  abandoned  his  ally,  Rene,  Duke  of  Lorraine,  whose  inheri- 
tance Charles  the  Rash  coveted. 

Sovereign  of  the  Duchy  of  Burgundy,  Franche-Comte,  Hain- 
ault,  Flanders,  Holland,  and  Gueldres,  Charles  wished,  by  joining 
to  these  Lorraine,  a  portion  of  Switzerland,  and  the  inheritance  of 
old  King  Rene,  Count  of  Provence,  to  recompose  the  ancient  king- 
dom of  Lorraine,  such  as  it  had  existed  under  the  Carlovingian 
dynasty.  Lorraine  S(jon  lay  at  his  feet,  and  Xancy  opened  its  gates 
to  Charles  the  Rash.  Irritated  against  the  Swiss,  who  had  braved 
him,  Charles  besieged  the  little  town  of  Grandson  and,  in  spite  of 
a  capitulation,  caused  all  the  defenders  to  be  hanged  or  drowned. 
At  this  news  the  ])eo])le  of  the  Helvetian  republic  rose,  and  attacked 
the  duke  before  Grandson  (1476)  and  dispersed  his  troops.  Some 
months  later,  sujjporled  by  young  Rene  of  Lorraine,  they  exter- 
minated a  second  lUu-gundian  army  bef(M-e  ]\Iorat  (1476).  Charles. 
vanquished,  assembled  a  third  army,  and  marched  in  the  midst  of 


TERRITORIAL     UNITY  125 

1476-1483 

winter  against  Nancy,  which  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Swiss 
and  Lorrainers.  It  was  there  that  he  perished,  in  1477,  betrayed 
by  his  mercenary  soldiers,  and  overpowered  by  numbers.  At  this 
news  Louis  immediately  seized  the  duchy  of  Burgundy,  and  claimed 
the  guardianship  of  the  daughter  of  Charles,  Mary  of  Burgundy. 
The  more  secure  he  felt  himself  to  be,  the  more  cruel  he  became. 
He  caused  the  Duke  of  Nemours,  whom  he  held  as  a  prisoner,  to 
be  executed  in  the  presence  of  his  children,  and  these  were  after- 
wards thrown  into  dungeons,  where  they  were  subjected  to  horrible 
tortures. 

The  pei*fidy  and  ferocity  of  the  king  raised  all  the  new  states 
which  he  had  seized  against  him.  ^Maximilian  of  Austria,  recently 
united  to  Mary  of  Burgundy,  and  who  claimed  her  heritage, 
marched  against  him  and  fought  the  bloody  and  indecisive  battle  of 
Guinegate  in  1479.  This  was  followed  by  a  long  truce;  and  three 
years  later,  on  the  death  of  Mary,  her  daughter,  then  two  years  old, 
was  promised  to  the  dauphin,  llie  Treaty  of  Arras  (1482),  con- 
cluded by  Louis  with  the  states  of  Flanders  and  the  emperor,  con- 
firmed to  him  the  possession  of  the  Duchy  of  Burgundy,  and  the 
counties  of  Franche-Comte,  ]\Iacon,  Charolais,  Auxcrre,  and 
Artois.  Old  Rene  of  Anjou,  sovereign  of  Lorraine  and  Provence 
and  titular  King  of  Naples,  had  died  a  few  years  before.  He  had 
for  a  long  period  abdicated  the  ducal  crown  of  Lorraine  in  favor  of 
Rene,  the  son  of  his  eldest  daughter.  He  left  by  will  the  rest  of 
his  estates  to  his  nephew  Charles  of  Maine,  who  only  survived  his 
uncle  a  short  time,  and  bequeathed  his  domains  in  France  and  his 
rights  to  the  crown  of  Naples  to  Louis  XL,  who  had  already  ob- 
tained from  the  King  of  Aragon,  as  a  pledge  for  a  loan  of  two 
lumdred  thousand  crowns,   Roussillon  and  Cerdagne. 

The  king  was  growing  old,  and  trembled  at  the  thought  of 
dying.  Shut  up  in  his  chateau  of  Plessis-les-Tours,  his  ordinary 
residence,  a  prey  to  fear  of  e\eryone  who  approached  him,  he  gave 
himself  up  to  the  fanatical  and  superstitious  practice  of  religious 
ceremonies,  trusting  in  accordance  with  the  vain  belief  of  his  age, 
that  the  externals  of  devotion  were  sufficient  to  efface  the  most 
enormous  crimes.  He  died  on  August  30,  1483,  leaving  the 
scepter  to  his  young  son,  Charles.  France  was  indebted  to 
Louis  XL  for  many  wise  institutions,  nearly  all  created  with  the 
design  of  centralizing  the  action  of  power.  To  attain  this  end,  he 
tried  to  establish   in  the  kingdom  uniformity  of  customs,  and  of 


126  FRANCE 

1483-1484 

weights  and  measures;  he  created  posts,  estabhshing  on  the  great 
road  couriers,  solely  destined  to  carry  public  news  to  the  king,  and 
to  carry  his  orders;  he  replaced  the  corps  of  free  archers  by  Swiss 
corps,  and  some  privileged  companies  by  a  Scotch  guard.  He  in- 
stituted three  new  parlements,  at  Grenoble,  Bordeaux,  and  Dijon. 
The  most  remarkable  edict  of  his  reign  is  that  which  rendered  a 
Hfe  tenure  to  judicial  offices.  That  edict  founded  the  independence 
and  the  power  of  the  parlements,  but  was  not  inspired,  however, 
by  love  of  justice ;  for  no  one  more  often  than  Louis  XI.  had  re- 
course, in  his  criminal  trials,  to  commissions  and  to  illegal  and 
violent  means. 

The  principal  work  of  Louis  XI.  was  the  abasement  of  the 
second  feudality,  which  had  raised  itself  on  the  ruins  of  the  first, 
and  which,  without  him,  would  have  replunged  France  into  anarchy. 
The  chiefs  of  that  feudality  were,  however,  more  formidable,  since, 
for  the  most  part,  they  belonged  to  the  blood  royal  of  France.  The 
time  was  still  distant  when  the  royal  authority  w'ould  be  seen  freely 
exercised  through  every  territory  comprised  in  the  natural  limits  of 
the  kingdom.  But  Louis  XL  did  much  to  attain  this  aim,  and  after 
him  no  princely  or  vassal  house  was  ^powerful  enough  to  resist  the 
crown  by  its  own  force,  and  to  put  the  throne  in  peril. 

Charles  VIII.,  son  and  successor  of  Louis  XL,  mounted  the 
throne  at  the  age  of  thirteen  years.  He  had  two  sisters,  of  whom 
the  elder  was  married  to  the  Lord  of  Beaujeu,  of  the  house  of 
Bourbon.  Charles  had  passed  a  part  of  his  solitary  youth  in  the 
chateau  of  Ambroise,  where  long  illnesses  had  deformed  his  body. 
Kept  by  his  father  in  profound  ignorance  of  everything,  he  did 
not  know  how  to  fix  his  attention  on  anything.  Incapable  of  ap- 
plication and  of  discernment,  and  feeling  his  weakness,  he  lived 
for  a  long  time  in  guardianship,  though  he  was  fully  of  age, 
according  to  the  French  regime,  when  his  father  died,  having  at- 
tained his  fourteenth  year. 

Anne  of  Beaujeu  preserved  the  guardianship  of  his  person, 
ancl  took  possession  of  the  power  conjointly  with  her  husband. 
This  authority  was  disputed  by  the  Dukes  of  Orleans  and  Bour- 
bon, and  the  Count  of  Claremont,  all  three  princes  of  the  blood 
royal  and  chiefs  of  the  feudal  reaction.  The  first  was  heir  pre- 
sumptive to  the  throne,  and  the  second  eldest  brother  of  the  Lord 
of  Beaujeu.  At  last,  in  1484,  in  order  to  put  an  end  to  their 
dangerous  rivalries,  the  Fstates-General  were  convoked  at  Tours. 


I.dll.-     \l.     Kl.\(,    di-     IKAXCK 
AfU'r    'I    cojiiciiil^oniyy    l^ninfiiii; 


TERRITORIAL     UNITY  127 

1484 

It  was  the  first  time  that  all  of  France  had  l}ecn  represented  in  the 
Estates.  The  assembly  laid  its  hands  on  all  abuses,  described  all 
the  reforms,  and  invoked  the  ancient  French  constitution,  which, 
however,,  was  only  written  in  the  hearts  of  men,  and  existed  only 
in  name.  The  order  of  the  clerj^y  demanded  the  liberties  of  the 
Galilean  church,  contrary  to  the  wish  of  the  bishops;  the  nobility 
claimed  anything  that  could  restore  its  ancient  military  impor- 
tance; the  Third  Estate  solicited  the  abolition  of  "  prcvotal "  jus- 
tice, the  diminution  of  the  costs  of  law,  the  moderation  of  the  tolls, 
and  the  surety  of  the  roads ;  then,  presenting  the  picture  of  the 
miseries  of  the  people,  it  entreated  the  king-  to  reduce  the  expenses, 
and  above  all  to  abolish  the  land-tax. 

The  whole  of  France,  in  short,  by  the  mouth  of  its  deputies, 
demanded  a  return  to  the  government  of  Charles  VII.  The  Estates 
named  the  Duke  of  Orleans  president  of  the  council,  gave  the  sec- 
ond place  to  the  Duke  of  Bourbon,  constable,  and  the  third  to  the 
Lord  of  Beaujeu;  they  decided  that  the  Estates  alone  had  the  right 
to  tax  the  people,  ordered  reductions  in  the  army,  and  voted  a  tax 
of  twelve  hundred  thousand  livres  for  two  years,  with  a  supplement 
of  three  hundred  thousand  for  that  year.  Soon  the  discussions 
degenerated  into  quarrels  concerning  the  redivision  of  the  land- 
tax  in  the  provinces.  Profiting  by  these  divisions  and  the  lassi- 
tude of  the  deputies,  the  princes  promised  everything  for  the  king, 
and  hastened  to  dismiss  the  Estates.  No  promise  was  kept,  and 
none  of  the  wishes  expressed  were  heard  favorably. 

The  Duke  of  Orleans  was  soon  removed  by  his  sister-in-law, 
Anne,  from  the  council.  The  wisdom  and  vigor  vvith  which  this 
princess  employed  the  royal  authority  caused  the  people  to  forget 
that  she  had  usurped  it.  But  in  1485  a  league  was  formed  against 
her,  composed  of  the  princes  of  the  blood  royal,  the  Prince  of 
Orange,  Philip  de  Commines,  and  the  Count  of  Dunois,  son  of  the 
famous  bastard  of  that  name.  These  confederates,  less  guilty  in 
having  struggled  against  the  usurpation  of  the  regency  than  in 
opening  the  kingdom  to  foreigners,  called  to  their  aid  Maximilian 
of  Austria,  and  Francis  IL,  Duke  of  Brittany. 

That  province  was  a  prey  to  anarchy.  The  old  duke,  Francis 
II.,  nearly  imbecile,  reigned  (Mily  in  name,  the  government  being 
carried  on  by  the  son  of  a  tailor,  named  Landais,  whom  he  had 
made  his  treasurer  and  favorite.  The  nobles  of  Brittany  were 
leagued  together  against  him  and  against  their  duke.     xVnne  of 


128  F  R  A  N  C  E 

1484-1488 

Beaujeu,  always  acting-  in  the  name  of  the  king,  made  an  alHance 
with  them.  She  united  herself  in  a  similar  manner  with  Rene  of 
L.orraine  and  the  Flemings,  who  had  revolted  at  this  period  against 
Maximilian  of  Austria,  their  sovereign. 

In  1485  tlie  Breton  nobles  seized  Landais  in  the  very  cham- 
ber of  their  sovereign,  who  delivered  him  up  while  asking  for 
mercy.  It  was  in  vain:  Landais  was  condemned  to  death  and 
executed,  without  ihe  knowledge  of  his  master.  Anne  of  Beaujeu 
profited  skillfull}-  b}-  the  success  of  her  allies.  She  sulxlued  the 
soucli,  and  took  CJuicnne  away  from  the  Count  of  Comminge,  who 
had  embraced  the  side  of  the  princes.  The  latter  were  in  con- 
sternation. Dunois  reanimated  their  courage,  and  drew  over  to 
or  maintained  on  his  side.  Alain  d'Albret,  the  lord  of  Beam,  Maxi- 
milian of  Austria,  recently  elected  king  of  the  Romans,  and  the 
powerful  Viscount  of  Rohan.  However,  Anne  caused  her  brotlier 
to  summon  to  the  throne,  in  the  Parlement  of  Paris,  the  leagued 
l)rinces  and  the  principal  nobles  of  their  party.  They  did  not  ap- 
pear; and  in  the  month  of  May  following  a  sentence  was  issued  by 
which  Count  Dunois,  Lescun,  Count  of  Comminge,  Philip  de  Corn- 
mines,  the  Lord  of  Argenton,  and  many  other  nobles,  were  con- 
demned as  being  guilty  of  high  treason  against  the  king.  No 
sentence  was  pronounced  against  the  princes.  Anne  followed  up 
her  advantages.  She  entrusted  her  royal  army  to  La  Tremouille, 
who  marched  into  Brittany  and  met  the  army  of  the  princes  near 
to  S^u'nt  Aubi.n  du  Connier  (1488).  [Marshal  de  Rieux,  the  Lord 
d'Albret,  and  Chate;uibriand  commanded  it ;  the  Duke  of  Orleans 
and  the  Prince  of  Orange  were  in  its  ranks.  They  engaged  in 
battle;  it  was  gained  by  La  Tremouille,  and  prepared  the  way 
for  the  union  of  Brittany  with  France.  The  Duke  of  Orleans,  the 
Prince  of  Orange,  and  a  great  number  of  nobles  were  taken  pris- 
(>ners.  ]\Iany  of  the  nobles  were  put  to  death.  The  Duke  of 
Orleans  and  the  Prince  of  Orange  were  led  back  into  France, 
where  Anne  held  them  prisoners.  The  Treaty  of  Sable,  concluded 
in  the  same  year,  suspended  hostilities  between  France  and 
Brittany. 

The  constaljle,  the  Duke  of  P,ourbon,  was  dead;  his  brother. 
Lord  of  I'eaujeii,  had  inlierited  his  title  and  all  his  power.  Anne, 
who  had  bcc(jme  Duclie.-s  of  Bourbon,  lived,  after  the  battle  of 
Saint  Aubin  du  Cormier,  in  possession  of  an  authority  which 
ceased  to  be  contested.     This  princess  had  had  for  a  long  time  in 


TERRITORIAL     UNITY  129 

1488-1491 

view  the  union  of  Brittany  with  the  crown.  A  few  months  after 
the  signature  of  the  Treaty  of  Sable,  old  Francis  IT.  died.  Charles 
VITI.  claimed  the  guardianship  of  his  daughters,  of  whom  Anne, 
the  eldest,  was  scarcely  thirteen  years  old.  Anarchy  ensued  in 
Brittany:  many  princes  and  nobles  aspired  to  the  hand  of  the 
girl-duchess,  when,  in  1490,  the  young  Anne  of  Brittany,  in  order 
to  escape  from  her  persecutors,  consented  to  marry  the  King  of 
the  Romans,  jMaximilian  of  Austria.  That  prince  was  absent,  and 
the  marriage  was  only  celebrated  by  proxy.  Charles  VIII.  soon 
after  surprised  Rennes,  where  the  duchess  was,  and  carried  her 
off.  Then  was  accomplished  a  strange  fact  in  the  annals  of  his- 
tory, Anne  of  Brittany  and  Charles  VIII.  were  betrothed,  the 
former  to  Maximilian,  and  the  latter  to  Marguerite  of  Austria, 
eleven  years  old,  daughter  of  the  same  Maximilian  and  Mary  of 
Burgundy;  but  neither  of  the  two  marriages  had  been  completed. 
Both  contracts  were  annulled,  and  Charles  V^III.  married,  in  1491, 
Anne  of  Brittan}^,  who  ceded  to  him  all  the  rights  of  sovereignty, 
engaging  herself,  if  she  became  a  widow,  to  marry  only  the  heir 
to  the  kingdom ;  the  king,  in  his  turn,  promising  solemnly  to  re- 
spect the  privileges  of  the  Bretons. 

Charles,  who  was  twenty-two  years  of  age,  was  then  the  most 
powerful  sovereign  in  Europe.  Since  the  preceding  year  he  had 
thrown  off  the  prudent  guardianship  of  his  sister.  The  first  act  of 
his  authority  was  to  set  at  libert}^  the  Duke  of  Orleans.  He  ap- 
peased ]\laximilian  of  Austria,  whose  wife  he  had  carried  off  and 
whose  daughter  he  had  repudiated,  by  giving  up  to  him,  in  1495,  by 
the  Treaty  of  Senlis,  the  counties  of  Franche-Comte,  Charolais,  and 
Artois.  The  King  of  England.  Henry  VII.,  whom  he  had  assisted 
in  conquering  his  kingdom  from  Richard  III.,  repaid  him  with 
ingratitude,  and  besieged  Boulogne  with  an  army.  Charles  obtained 
peace  by  recognizing  in  the  Treaty  of  Etaples  a  debt  of  seven  hun- 
dred and  forty-five  thousand  gold  crowns  payable  to  that  monarch. 
He  lastly  made  up  by  the  Treaty  of  Barcelona,  to  Ferdinand  of 
Aragon  and  Isabella  of  Castile,  vanquishers  of  the  Moors,  and 
conquerors  of  Grenada,  the  counties  of  Roussillon  and  Cerdagnc, 
dearly  purchased  by  Louis  XL  In  peace  with  the  neighboring 
states  and  with  his  people,  Charles  VIII.  then  gave  himself  up  to 
his  passion  for  distant  adventures  and  chivalrous  conquests.  He 
thought,  it  is  said,  of  conquering  Constantinople,  but  bounded  his 
ambition  at  first  with  Italy  and  Sicily, 


130  FRANCE 

1491-1494 

For  a  long  time  Italy  had  excited  the  cupidity  of  the  French. 
Louis  XL,  among-  others,  sought  to  obtain  rights  over  it:  it  was  at 
his  instigation  that  tlie  old  King  of  Naples,  Rene  of  Anjou,  desig- 
nated as  his  heir  Charles  of  INLiine,  his  nephew,  to  the  prejudice  of 
Rene  IL,  Duke  of  Lorraine,  son  of  his  eldest  daughter.  Charles 
of  Alaine,  on  taking  the  title  of  King  of  Naples,  named  Louis,  in  his 
turn,  his  sole  heir.  This  will  was  the  only  title  on  which  Charles 
VI IL  rested  his  pretensions  to  the  crown  of  Naples  and  Sicily,  then 
I)ossessed  by  a  Prince  of  Aragon,  Ferdinand  I.,  son  of  Alphonse  the 
}^Iagnanimous. 

A  party  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  favorable  to  the  House  of 
Anjou,  and  called  the  Angevin  party,  had  appealed  uselessly  to 
Rene  of  Lorraine  to  come  into  the  kingdom ;  in  place  of  him  they  ad- 
dressed themselves  to  Charles  VIIL,  and  offered  to  him  the  crowni. 
This  prince  had  still  another  supporter  in  Italy.  Louis  the  Moor, 
son  of  Francesco  Sforza,  was  all-pow^erful  at  IMilan,  had  held  the 
regency  of  the  duchy  for  his  nephew,  the  young  Duke  John  Galeas, 
who  was  incapable  of  reigning  himself.  Afilicted  by  the  divisions 
in  Italy,  he  thought  of  uniting  it  into  one  body :  but  his  genius 
provoked  the  jealous  hate  of  all  the  sovereigns  of  that  country. 
Threatened  by  the  Venetians,  and  distrusting  the  new^  Pope,  Alex- 
ander VI.,  he  believed  he  needed  the  support  of  the  French,  and 
called  them  into  Lombardy.  From  that  time  Charles  VIIL  no 
longer  hesitatetl.  Ferdinand  I.  was  dead;  he  left  two  sons — 
Alphonso  IL,  who  succeeded  him,  already  celebrated  in  his  wars 
against  the  Turks ;  and  iM-ederic,  to  whom  his  brother  entrusted  the 
command  of  the  Neapolitan  fleet. 

It  was  in  the  month  of  August,  in  tlie  year  1494,  that  the 
French  army  began  to  pass  over  the  Alps.  Italy  rose  at  their 
api)roach.  The  king  halted  at  Milan  and  saw  the  Duke,  John 
Galeas  Visc;)nti,  who  died  soon  after  his  departure,  when  Louis 
the  Moor  took  the  title  of  Duke  of  Milan.  The  French  army  con- 
tinued its  march  across  Lombardy,  and  arrived  upon  the  territory 
of  Flcjrence,  where  the  people  rose  against  the  head  of  the  IHoren- 
tine  re]jublic,  Pierre  de  Medici,  wdio  sought  a  refuge  in  Venice. 
The  Fkjrentincs  hailed  the  French  with  acclamations  as  their 
liberators.  J'ierre's  crime,  in  the  eyes  of  the  Florentines,  consisted 
in  having  delivered  up  some  strong  castles  and  towns  to  the  French; 
but  as  Charles  VIII.  jjromised  to  res])cct  their  liberties,  and  restore 
the  fortresses  given  up  by  the  Medici,  at  the  end  of  the  war,  they 


T  E  R  R  I  T  O  R  I  A  L     UNIT  Y  131 

1494-1495 

lent  him  their  support,  and  granted  liini  a  subsidy  to  help  him  in 
his  enterprise.  Ferdinand,  son  of  Alphonso  II.,  charged  by  his 
father  to  stop  the  French,  was  supported  neither  by  the  Pope  nor 
by  the  Florentines.  Too  weak  to  struggle  alone,  he  recoiled  before 
the  enemy,  and  Charles  VIII.  arrived  almost  at  Rome  without 
drawing  sword.  Alphonso  abdicated  in  favor  of  his  son  Ferdinand, 
and  retired  to  Mazarra,  in  Sicily,  where  he  died  during  the  same 
year.  Ferdinand  II.,  abandoned  by  the  army  and  excluded  from  his 
capital,  was  compelled  to  withdraw,  with  his  family,  to  the  island  of 
Ischia.  Charles  VIII.  arrived  before  Naples,  all  of  the  privileges 
of  which  he  confirmed,  and  made  a  triumphal  entiy  into  the  city. 

The  French,  intoxicated  with  glory,  thought  only  of  enriching 
themselves  promptly.  Charles  refused  his  followers  nothing  they 
chose  to  ask,  and  by  this  and  his  want  of  gratitude  to  the  Angevin 
barons,  who  had  espoused  his  cause,  he  soon  raised  a  strong  party 
against  him  in  Naples.  The  powers  of  Europe  became  alarmed  at 
his  rapid  successes.  In  1495,  Spain,  Alaximilian,  Venice,  and  the 
Pope  leagued  themselves  secretly  against  him,  and  the  soul  of  this 
league  was  his  ancient  ally,  Louis  the  Moor,  whom  the  French  had 
refused  to  recognize  as  Duke  of  Milan,  the  Duke  of  Orleans  claim- 
ing that  title  in  virtue  of  the  rights  that  he  held  from  Valentina 
Visconti,  his  grandmother.  Philip  de  Commines,  ambassador 
from  the  King  of  Venice,  hastened  to  give  a  warning  to  the  king, 
and  Charles  ordered  an  immediate  retreat,  leaving  his  relation, 
Gilbert  de  Montpensier,  viceroy  of  the  kingdom,  with  a  portion 
of  the  army.  The  Duke  of  Orleans,  wdiom  Charles  had  left  at  Asti, 
had  attacked  Louis  the  Moor,  wdio,  after  having  repulsed  him,  held 
him  blockaded  at  Novara.  All  Lombardy  arose.  The  Venetian 
army  arrived  and  united  itself  with  the  Milanese,  and  Charles's 
retreat  was  cut  off.  The  French  army,  very  inferior  in  numbers, 
met  them  in  Fornovo  (1495).  It  was  attacked  in  the  pass  of 
Taro  and  gained  a  signal  victory.  The  king,  by  the  Treaty  of  Ver- 
celli,  made  peace  with  Louis  the  Moor,  and  recognized  him  as  Duke 
of  j\Iilan,  and  that  prince  declared  himself  in  return  a  vassal  of  the 
crown  of  France,  for  the  fief  of  Genoa,  which  then  belonged  to 
France. 

While  Charles  returned  to  his  states,  Ferdinand  and  Gonzalvo 
of  Cordova  attacked  the  French  left  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples. 
Gilbert  de  Alontpcnsier  was  compelled  to  evacuate  the  capital,  and 
engage  to  leave  the  kingdom.    An  epidemic  cut  down  his  troo]Ls ;  he 


132  FRANCE 

1495-1500 

himself  died  at  Pozzuolo :  barely  five  hundred  soldiers  survived  liim. 
Charles  VIII.,  on  receiving  the  news  of  these  disasters,  projected 
a  second  expedition,  but  on  April  7,  1498,  he  died  of  an  accident 
in  his  chateau  of  Amboise,  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight  years. 

The  Duke  of  Orleans  was  thirty-six  years  old  when  he 
ascended  the  throne  under  the  name  of  Louis  XII.  He  soon  took 
the  titles  of  King  of  France,  of  Jerusalem,  and  of  the  Two  Sicilies, 
and  Duke  of  Milan,  in  order  that  there  might  be  no  doubt  in  Europe 
as  to  his  pretensions  with  regard  to  Italy.  The  first  acts  of  Louis 
XII.  were  wise  and  useful.  He  diminished  the  taxes,  reestablished 
order  in  the  finances  and  the  administration,  and  confirmed  an 
ordinance  signed  by  the  late  king,  for  the  creation  of  a  sovereign 
court  or  great  council.  This  court,  composed  of  the  chancellor, 
twenty  councilors,  ecclesiastical  or  lay,  and  the  masters  of  the 
petitions  of  royal  mansion,  was  destined,  said  the  king,  to  sustain 
his  rights  and  prerogatives.  It  strengthened  and  adjusted  the 
royal  authority,  and  Louis  XII.  deserved  the  gratitude  of  the  people 
on  account  of  the  wise  reforms  which  it  brought  into  the  legislation. 
Queen  Anne  had  retired  into  Brittany  soon  after  the  death  of 
Charles  VIII.,  her  husband,  and  performed  an  act  of  sovereignty 
by  issuing  moneys  and  publishing  edicts.  Her  duchy  was  about 
to  escape  from  France  if  she  did  not  espouse  the  king,  and  Louis 
resolved  to  accomplish  this  marriage.  He  was  married  to  Jeanne, 
daughter  of  Louis  XL,  and  although  there  was  no  legal  motive 
for  such  a  step,  he  solicited  and  obtained  a  divorce  from  Pope 
Alexander  VI.  (1499),  the  duchy  by  the  marriage  contract  being 
declared  transmissible  to  the  second  child  of  the  queen,  or,  in  default 
of  a  second  child,  to  her  nearest  heir. 

Soon  after  this  union  Louis  made  his  claims  upon  the  Milanese 
profitable,  altliough  he  could  only  invoke  them  in  the  quality  of 
being  grandson  of  Valentina  Visconti.  They  were  sustained  by  a 
powerful  army,  whicli  with  the  support  of  the  Venetians  and  the 
Pope  subdued  the  Milanese  in  twenty  days.  Louis  the  ]\Ioor  took 
refuge  with  his  sun-in-law,  the  Emperor  Maximilian.  The  admin- 
istration of  tlie  h'rench  at  Milan  v;as  oppressive:  a  revolt  soon 
bnjke  out,  and  Lrjuis  returned  with  his  forces.  Fie  was,  however, 
besieged  in  Xovara  by  the  h^rench  under  La  Tremouille.  The 
Swi-s  in  hi:,  army  cajiitulatcd  and  allowed  him  to  be  taken,  and 
he  was  subjected  to  strict  imprisonment  in  the  castle  of  Lys-Saint- 
Georges  in  Berri  till  his  death.     Master  of  the  Milanese,  the  king 


TERRITORIAL     UNITY  183 

1500-1506 

assisted  the  Pope  and  the  corrupt  Cesare  Borgia  in  subduing  the 
Romagna ;  then  he  turned  his  eyes  toward  Naples,  the  ephemeral 
conquest  of  Charles  VllL,  where  Frederic,  in  1496,  had  succeeded 
his  nephew  Ferdinand  IT.  Louis  XII.  w-as  not  alone  in  coveting 
this  beautiful  country;  Ferdinand  the  Catholic,  King  of  Aragon, 
wished  for  his  part.  In  spite  of  the  ties  of  family  which  united 
him  with  Frederic,  the  King  of  Aragon  acceded  at  Grenada,  in 
1500,  to  a  secret  treaty  by  which  Naples  and  the  Abruzzi  were 
chosen  by  France  and  the  southern  provinces  by  Spain.  Frederic, 
menaced  by  the  French  armies,  solicited  the  support  of  Ferdinand, 
who  hastened  to  send  Spanish  troops  under  Gonzalvo  of  Cordova 
into  Naples,  and  then  showed  to  the  unfortunate  Frederic,  so  shame- 
fully deceived,  the  treaty  of  division.  The  French  and  Spaniards, 
however,  soon  disputed  about  the  revenues  of  the  kingdom,  and 
when  Gonzalvo  believed  that  he  was  strong  enough  hostilities 
broke  out.  He  gained  two  consecutive  victories,  the  one  at  Semi- 
nara,  the  other  at  Cerignoles  (1503),  and  the  French  preserved  in 
the  kingdom  only  the  single  tow^n  of  Gaeta.  Louis  XII.  assembled 
two  new  armies,  of  which  one  marched  upon  Spain ;  the  other  ad- 
vanced towards  Naples,  when  suddenly  the  death  of  Alexander 
VI.  deprived  the  king  of  his  most  powerful  ally.  Julius  II.,  his 
successor,  soon  created  for  him  in  that  country  new  perils  and 
insurmountable  obstacles.  The  French  army,  checked  by  Gon- 
zalvo on  the  banks  of  the  Garigliano,  w^as  obliged  to  retreat.  Gacta 
opened  its  gates  to  the  Spaniards ;  the  French  were  everywhere 
repulsed;  and  the  kingdom  of  Naples  was  lost  a  second  time  to 
France. 

While  France  experienced  such  great  reverses  abroad,  a 
greater  danger  threatened  her  at  home.  Queen  Anne  wished  her 
daughter  Claude  to  marry  young  Charles  of  Austria,  afterwards 
the  famous  Charles  V.  This  prince,  son  of  A.rchduke  Philip, 
sovereign  of  the  Low  Countries,  inherited  Spain  through  his 
mother,  Joan  the  I'oolisli ;  and  Louis  XII.,  by  the  secret  Treaty  of 
Blois  (1504),  which  was  signed  by  the  king  when  dangerously  ill, 
ceded  to  him,  as  a  dowry  for  Princess  Claude,  Brittany,  part  of 
the  inheritance  of  the  dukes  of  Burgundy  united  with  France, 
and  all  his  rights  over  the  Milanese.  In  1506  he  received  from 
the  Estates-General,  assembled  at  Tours,  the  surname  of  "  Father  of 
the  People,"  and  was  entreated  by  them  to  marry  his  daughter 
Claude  to  his  cousin  Francis,  Count  of  Angouleme,  heir  presump- 


134  FRANCE 

1506-1512 

tive  to  the  crown.  This  request  anticipated  the  secret  desire  of  the 
king,  who.  reproaching  himself  with  the  sad  Treaty  of  Blois,  had 
already  seized  an  opportunity  to  break  it.  He  heard  with  favor 
the  wish  of  the  Estates,  and  the  royal  betrothals  were  immediately 
celebrated. 

Louis  XII.,  in  spite  of  his  reverses,  had  always  fixed  his  eyes 
on  Italy.  Genoa  then  was  in  submission  to  the  French,  but,  being 
oppressed  by  the  government  and  nobles,  the  people  revolted,  drove 
out  the  French,  and  elected  a  doge.  The  revolt  was  promptly  sup- 
pressed by  the  king,  who  entered,  sword  in  hand,  into  the  van- 
quished city,  caused  seventy-nine  of  the  principal  citizens,  together 
with  the  doge,  to  be  hanged,  and  burdened  the  rest  with  a  tax  of 
two  hundred  and  forty  thousand  florins,  a  sum  sufficient  to  ruin 
the  republic. 

Venice  had  served  as  a  bulwark  for  France  against  Germany 
and  had  show^n  itself  her  faithful  ally  in  the  campaign  of  Italy; 
but  Louis  XII.  excited  without  motive  the  Emperor  Maximilian, 
the  Pope,  and  the  King  of  Aragon  against  the  Venetians.  The 
Cardinal  of  Amboise  was  the  soul  of  this  league,  known  as  the 
"  League  of  Cambrai,"  from  the  name  of  the  town  where  the  treaty 
of  alliance  was  signed,  in  1508.  between  those  sovereigns  and  Louis 
XII.  The  French  marched  against  Venice,  and  gained  the  victory 
of  Agnadel.  The  king  treated  the  vanquished  with  pitiless  cruelty. 
But  Pope  Julius  II.,  whose  design  it  was  to  make  the  Pontifical 
state  dominant  in  Italy,  to  free  the  peninsula  from  the  foreign 
yoke,  and  to  constitute  the  Swiss  guardians  of  its  liberties,  and 
who  had  only  entered  with  regret  into  the  Treaty  of  Cambrai,  con- 
nected himself  with  the  Venetians  after  their  reverses,  and,  detach- 
ing himself  from  the  League  of  Cambrai  he  formed  another, 
which  he  called  "  The  Holy,"  with  the  Venetians,  the  Swiss,  and 
Ferdinand  the  Catholic  (1511).  All  together  attacked  the  French; 
nevertheless  tlie  latter  obtained  some  brilliant  advantages  under 
the  young  and  impetuous  Gaston  de  Foix,  Duke  of  Nemours, 
nephew  cjf  the  king,  who  achieved  three  victories  in  three  months. 
The  battle  of  Ravenna,  where  this  hero  of  twenty-three  years,  "a 
great  captain  before  he  had  been  a  soldier,"  perished,  dying  at  the 
moment  of  his  triumph  (1512),  was  the  end  of  the  successes  of 
Louis  XII.  in  Italy. 

A  council  held,  in  151 1,  at  Pisa  by  some  schismatic  cardinals, 
partisans  of  tlie  King  of  In-ance  and  the  emperor,  had  suspended 


TERRITORIAL     UNITY  135 

1512-1515 

the  authority  of  the  Pope.  Jnhus  II.  responded  to  this  boldness 
on  the  part  of  the  king  by  signing  the  Holy  League,  and  Iw  con- 
voking the  council  of  St.  John  Lateran,  where  eighty-three  bishops 
from  all,  parts  of  Christendom  recognized  him  as  head  of  the 
church.  New  disasters  for  France  marked  out  the  course  of  that 
year.  Genoa  revolted,  and  Ferdinand  the  Catholic  conquered 
Navarre,  where  the  House  of  Albret,  an  ally  of  France,  reigned. 
Julius  11.  died  in  15 13  and  the  Cardinal  de  Medici,  as  great  an 
enemy  of  France,  succeeded  him,  under  the  name  of  Leo  X.  Louis 
XII.  at  last  became  reconciled  with  Venice  and  united  himself 
with  that  republic  by  the  Treaty  of  Orthez,  while  Emperor 
Maximilian,  Henry  VIII.,  King  of  England,  Ferdinand  the  Cath- 
olic and  the  Pope  formed  the  coalition  called  the  League  of 
Malines  against  him  (15 13).  La  Tremouille  conducted  into  Lom- 
bardy  a  French  army,  which  was  defeated  by  the  Swiss  at  Novara. 
It  recrossed  the  Alps,  abandoning  the  Venetians  to  themselves,  and 
Italy  was  lost  forever.  The  English  army  then  gained  in  Artois, 
in  15 13.  the  battle  of  Guinegate,  known  in  history  under  the  name 
of  the  Battle  of  the  Spurs,  on  account  of  the  complete  rout  of  the 
French  royal  troops.  Pressed  at  tlie  same  time  by  the  Swiss,  who 
were  besieging  Dijon,  by  the  Spaniards  and  by  the  English,  de- 
prived of  his  ally  by  the  death  of  James  IV.,  King  of  Scotland, 
killed  at  the  battle  of  Flodden,  and  lastly,  tormented  by  his  con- 
science, Louis  XII.  renounced  the  schism,  abandoned  the  Council 
of  Pisa,  removed  to  Lyons  and  signed  in  15 14  a  truce  at  Orleans 
with  the  Pope  and  all  his  powerful  enemies. 

The  cost  and  the  misfortunes  of  so  many  wars  had  compelled 
the  king  to  increase  the  taxes,  to  reclaim  his  gratuitous  gifts  and 
alienate  his  domain.  Queen  Anne  was  no  more,  and  in  order  to 
insure  peace  between  lingland  and  France  Louis  asked  and  ob- 
tained in  marriage  the  hand  of  Mary,  sister  to  Henry  VIII.,  en- 
gaging himself  to  pay  during  eight  years  a  hundred  thousand 
crowns  per  annum  to  the  English  monarch.  This  marriage  be- 
tween a  young  princess  of  sixteen  years  and  a  man  of  fifty-three, 
exhausted  and  sickly,  was  fatal  to  Louis  XTI.  She  was  fond  of 
a  gay  life,  and  to  please  her  the  king  disobeyed  his  physicians, 
stayed  out  late  at  dances,  gave  tournaments  and  shows,  and  broke 
through  all  the  regularity  of  his  life.  He  died,  without  leaving 
a  son,  on  January  i,  15 15,  a  few  months  after  the  celebration 
of  his  marriage. 


136  FRANCE 

1515 

Cndcr  Francis  T.  all  was  silence  around  the  throne.  The 
Estates-General  were  no  more  convoked ;  the  parlemcnts  pro- 
claimed tlic  doctrine  of  absolnte  power;  tlie  snbmissive  clergy  in- 
voked the  protection  of  the  scepter,  and  the  expiring  genius  of  the 
old  armed  feudality  was  reduced  to  pow^erlessness  by  the  irrev- 
ocable union  of  Brittany  with  the  crown.  Thenceforth,  from  the 
ocean  to  the  Alps,  from  the  Somme  to  the  Mediterranean  and  the 
Pyrenees,  was  to  be  under  the  hand  of  one  sole  master. 

This  prince,  twenty  years  of  age  at  his  accession,  was  the 
son  of  Louisa  of  Savoy  and  Charles  of  Angouleme,  cousin-german 
to  Louis  XIL,  both  descendants  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  brother 
of  Charles  VL  As  king,  he  considered  himself  absolute  master  of 
his  own  actions  and  of  the  nation.  He  maintained  that  every  order 
that  emanated  from  his  mouth  was  a  decree  of  destiny,  and  could 
not  conceive  that  the  Parlement,  princes,  nobility,  or  Estates- 
General  could  have  the  right  to  restrain  his  authority. 

Scarcely  had  Francis  L  seized  the  scepter  than,  following  the 
example  of  Louis  XIL,  he  turned  his  eyes  towards  Italy.  Desirous 
of  conquering  Alilan,  where  a  Sforza  still  reigned,  he  raised  a  for- 
midable army,  and  having  named  his  mother  Regent  of  France,  he 
crossed  the  Alps.  On  descending  into  the  plains,  Chabannes  and 
the  famous  Bayard,  the  "  knight  without  fear  and  without  re- 
proach," as  a  first  exploit  surprised  at  table  and  carried  off  Pros- 
per Colonna.  general  of  Maximilian  Sforza,  Duke  of  Milan.  This 
important  capture  was  followed  by  the  battle  of  Marignano 
(15 1 5),  under  the  walls  of  Milan,  in  which  Francis  I.,  who  fought 
like  a  hero,  comjjletely  defeated  the  Swiss  allies  of  the  Milanese. 
This  bloody  battle  cost  the  lives  of  some  three  thousand  French  and 
thirteen  or  fourteen  thousand  Swiss.  The  remains  of  the  con- 
(|uered  army  abandoned  Ital}'.  Francis  I.  asked,  on  the  day  after 
the  battle,  to  receive  the  order  of  chivalry  from  the  hand  of  Bayard, 
who  was  tlie  most  distinguished  among  his  most  valiant  captains 
at  ALarignano.  1die  rapid  conquest  of  the  duchy  of  Milan  was  the 
result  of  this  decisive  victory.  In  order  to  insure  its  possession. 
the  king  concluded  an  alliance  with  the  Swiss,  and  signed  a  con- 
cordat with  Po])e  Leo  X.,  engaging  himself  to  maintain  at  Florence 
the  authority  of  Lorenzo  and  Julian  de'  Medici,  near  relatives  of 
the  Pontiff,  and  to  abolish  tlie  Pragmatic  Sanction,  which  founded 
the  liberties  of  the  Galilean  church  upon  the  decrees  of  the  council 
of  Bale. 


TERRITORIAL     UNITY  137 

1515-1520 

The  young  rival  of  Francis  I.,  he  who  was  about,  for  so  many 
years,  to  dispute  with  lu'm  the  first  rank  in  Christendom,  now  com- 
menced to  show  liimself  upon  tlie  scene  of  the  world  Ferdinand 
the  Cathx)lic  died  in  15 16,  leaving  the  throne  to  his  daughter,  Joan 
the  Simple.  Charles  of  Austria,  sixteen  years  old,  son  of  Joan  the 
Simple,  was  associated  on  the  throne  with  his  mother  by  the  Cortes 
of  the  kingdom.  7diis  young  prince,  known  in  after-time  under 
the  name  of  Charles  V.,  was,  through  his  father,  Philip  the  Hand- 
some, inheritor  of  the  Low  Countries,  and  in  15 16  the  Emperor 
Maximilian,  his  grandfather,  left  him  his  hereditary  states.  Be- 
fore he  was  twenty  Charles  found  himself  master  of  Spain,  of  the 
Low  Countries,  of  x-\ustria.  of  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  and  the 
Spanish  possessions  in  America ;  he  was  already  the  most  powerful 
monarch  in  Europe.  The  relations  between  Francis  and  Charles 
commenced  by  a  treaty  of  alliance,  offensive  and  defensive,  signed 
at  Noyon  in  1516.  at  the  moment  wdien  Charles  inherited  the 
crown  of  Spain.  This  prince  promised  Francis  L  to  marry  his 
daughter,  then  in  the  cradle;  the  marriage  was  to  be  accomplished 
wdien  she  was  twelve  years  old,  and  Francis  had  to  give  her  as  a 
dowry  all  his  rights  over  the  kingdom  of  Naples. 

The  death  of  the  Emperor  Alaximilian  caused  the  breaking 
out  between  the  two  monarchs  of  the  first  symptoms  of  the  strug- 
gle that  was  only  to  finish  with  their  lives.  Both  of  them  had 
pretensions  to  the  empire ;  but  Germany,  threatened  by  the  Turks, 
had  need  of  an  emperor  whose  states  would  serve  as  a  barrier  to 
the  Mussulman  invasion  and  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  Frederic  the 
Wise,  having  refused  the  imperial  crown,  caused  it  to  be  given  to 
the  young  Austrian  prince,  so  celebrated  from  tliat  time  under  the 
name  of  Charles  V^.  Francis  L,  ^vounded  to  the  heart  in  his  am- 
bition, forgot  the  l^rcaty  of  Noyon,  redemanded  Naples,  taken  by 
Ferdinand  the  Catholic  from  Louis  NIL,  while  Charles  V.  claimed 
Milan  as  an  imperial  masculine  fief,  and  the  duchy  of  Burgundy  as 
the  inheritance  of  his  grandmother  ■Mary,  daughter  of  Charles  the 
Rash.  The  two  rivals  both  sought  the  support  of  Henry  VHL, 
King  of  England.  Th.e  interview  between  Francis  L  and  the 
English  monarcli  tofjk  ])lace  at  Guines,  near  Calais.  The  excessi\'C 
magnificence  wliicli  A\'as  displayed  on  both  sides  caused  the  name 
of  the  "Field  of  the  Clotli  (if  Gold  ''  to  be  given  to  the  jjlace  of 
conference.  After  three  weeks  of  rejoicing  and  splendid  fetes,  the 
two  kings  signed  a  treaty  of  alliance,  which  became  illusory;   for 


138  1^  R  A  N  C  E 

1520-1522 

Charles  V.,  having  himself  first  visited  Henry  VIII.,  had  seduced 
by  his  largesses,  and  by  the  hope  of  the  Papacy,  Cardinal  Wolsey, 
minister  and  favorite  of  that  prince. 

Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  so  many  motives  of  discord  and  jcal- 
ousv,  neither  of  the  two  rivals  was  anxious  to  commence  the  war. 
Cermanv,  indignant  at  the  shameful  traffic  in  indulgences,  had 
commenced  to  agitate,  through  the  voice  of  Luther,  who  had 
l)urne(l  in  public  at  Wittenberg,  in  1520,  the  bull  of  excommunica- 
tion issued  against  him  by  the  Pope.  An  act  so  audacious  filled 
Europe  with  astonishment,  and  in  1521  Charles  V.  convoked  a 
diet  at  \\'orms,  in  order,  as  he  said,  to  repress  the  new  opinions, 
which  were  dangerous  to  the  peace  of  Germany.  Luther  appeared 
at  this  diet,  under  the  protection  of  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  Fred- 
eric the  Wise,  and  defended  his  doctrines.  The  diet  permitted  him 
to  retire,  but  soon  afterwards  outlawed  him.  He  was  seized  on 
his  return  by  the  soldiers  of  the  Elector  of  Saxony  and  conducted 
to  the  fortress  of  W^artburg,  where  he  lived  shut  up  for  nine 
months,  concealed  from  his  friends  and  protected  against  his 
enemies.  It  was  there  that  he  commenced  his  translation  of 
the  Bible. 

While  these  great  interests  divided  Europe,  Leo  X.  excited 
the  French  to  the  conquest  of  Naples,  promising  them  his  support ; 
then  he  treated  almost  immediately  with  Charles  V.  At  last  hos- 
tilities commenced.  The  imperial  troops  took  ]Mouzon  in  Cham- 
ptagne,  in  1521,  and  besieged  ]\Iezieres,  which  was  saved  by  Anne 
de  }kIontmorency  and  the  Chevalier  Bayard.  Lautrec,  lieutenant- 
general  of  the  king,  badly  supported  by  the  mercenary  Swiss,  was 
beaten  at  Bicoque,  in  Lombardy,  in  1522,  and  Alilan  was  again 
lost.  At  the  same  time  Henry  VIIT.  united  with  the  emperor 
against  l^-ancis  T.,  and  both  declared  war  against  him,  while 
Adrian  \l.,  former  preceptor  of  Charles  V.,  ascended  the  Pon- 
tifical throne. 

Exhausted  by  the  prodigalities  of  the  king,  the  treasury  was 
empty  and  money  was  necessary.  It  was  not  possible  to  gather 
sufficient  by  raising  the  land  taxes  and  borrowing  mr)ney,  so,  by 
the  advice  of  the  minister  Duprat,  the  offices  of  the  magistracy,  tlie 
number  of  which  was  doublcfl.  were  sold  for  monev.  In  vain  the 
j),'n"]iament?  protested,  the  new  magistrates  were  maintained  ;  and 
this  dei)l()rablc  custom  of  venality,  for  the  first  time  avowed  and 
recognized,  lasted  until  the  French   Revolution.     About  this  time 


TERRITORIAL     UNITY  139 

1522-1525 

the  king's  mother,  Louisa  of  Savoy,  then  forty  Ncvcn  years  old. 
proposed  to  the  Constable  Uuke  of  Bourbon,  tlie  richest  and  most 
powerful  noble  of  the  kingdom,  to  marry  her.  ]3ourbon  rejected 
these  offers,  adding  irony  to  the  refusal.  The  princess,  furious, 
brought  an  unjust  action  against  the  duke.  The  Parlement  did 
not  dare  to  declare  its  opinion,  but  Francis,  urged  on  by  his  mother, 
seized  and  united  to  the  crown  the  immense  possessions  of  the 
constable.  Bourbon  immediately  treated  secretly  with  Henry  VIII. 
and  Charles  V.  and  invited  them  both  to  divide  the  kingdom.  In- 
formed of  these  negotiations,  the  king  tried  to  seize  his  person. 
Bourbon  escaped  into  Germany,  but  reappeared  soon  afterwards 
at  the  head  of  the  armies  of  the  emperor.  The  war  then  com- 
menced with  advantages  to  France  on  all  the  frontiers.  The  Ger- 
mans attacked  Champagne  and  Franche-Comte  without  success ; 
the  Spaniards  were  repulsed  in  the  south,  while  La  Tremouille  suc- 
cessfully defended  Picardy  against  an  Fnglish  army  in  Italy,  where 
Francis  I.  still  dreamed  of  conquest;  the  French  army,  under  the 
command  of  Admiral  Bonnivet,  was  compelled  to  retreat,  and  in  a 
skirmish  with  the  enemy  in  1524  the  Chevalier  Bayard  lost  his  life. 

Bourbon  and  the  ]\Iarquis  of  Pescaire  invaded  Provence  and 
a  number  of  towns  submitted.  jMarseilles  heroically  sustained  a 
siege,  which  -was  raised  by  the  imperial  troops,  after  forty  days' 
continuance,  at  the  approach  of  Francis  I.,  who  marched  into  Italy 
at  the  head  of  a  third  army  and  rapidly  recovered  the  whole  of  the 
Milanese  territory  and  besieged  Pavla.  Before  this  town  the 
French  and  imperial  troops  engaged  in  battle  on  February  25, 
1525.  The  French  were  totally  defeated.  The  imperial  army  en- 
tirely surrounded  the  king.  In  vain  Francis  I.  and  his  knights 
performed  heroic  exploits ;  the  king  was  twice  wounded  and  taken 
prisoner,  with  Flenry  d'Albret,  the  young  King  of  Navarre.  The 
latter  w^as  imprisoned  in  the  citadel  of  Padua,  whence  he  contrived 
to  escape.  Francis  was  ccjncealed  from  observation  in  that  of 
Pizzighettone  and  from  there  transferred  to  Madrid  by  order  of 
Charles  V. 

Although  Francis  I.,  before  his  departure,  had  conferred  the 
regency  of  the  kingdom  upon  his  mother,  the  sovereignty  remained 
entirely  in  his  person.  ]le  alone  could  accept  or  reject  the  con- 
ditions imposed  on  his  deliverance,  and  the  emperor,  who  saw  in 
the  captivity  of  I'^rancis  I.  the  humiliation  and  ruin  of  France, 
resolved  to  profit  to  the  utmost  by  his  victory.     The  king  fell  ill  in 


140  FRANCE 

1525-1527 

prison.  Charles,  who  liad,  until  then,  refused  to  see  him,  visited 
him  and  consoled  liiin  hy  affectionate  words,  but  soon  after  his 
recovery  he  set  him  at  liberty  upon  sad  and  dishonorable  .con- 
ditions for  iM-ance.  By  the  Treaty  of  Madrid  (1526),  which 
Francis  signed  with  a  secret  determination  not  to  observe  it,  he 
ceded  all  his  rights  upon  Italy,  renounced  the  sovereignty  of  the 
counties  of  Flanders  and  Artois,  and  abandoned  to  the  emperor 
the  duchy  of  Burgundy;  he  engaged  to  marry  Eleanor,  dowager 
Queen  of  Portugal,  sister  of  the  emperor;  he  pardoned  the  Duke  of 
Bourbon  and  concluded  an  offensive  and  defensive  league  with 
the  emperor,  promising  to  accompany  him  in  person  when  he  went 
upon  a  crusade  against  the  Turks  or  against  heretics.  Charles  V. 
on  his  side  gave  up  the  towns  on  the  Somme  wdiich  had  belonged 
to  Charles  the  Bold. 

After  the'  signature  of  this  treaty  the  king  was  released.  He 
Ijelieved  that  in  escaping  from  his  enemies  he  was  ecjually  free  from 
the  obligations  which  he  had  contracted  with  them,  and  replied  to 
the  messengers  of  the  emperor  that  lie  could  not  ratify  the  Treaty 
of  Madrid  without  the  consent  of  the  Estates  of  the  kingdom  and  of 
the  duchy  of  Burgundy.  He  contented  himself,  however,  with 
calling  the  princes,  nobles  and  bishops.,  who  then  formed  part  of 
his  court.  This  assembly  disengaged  him  from  his  word.  The 
states  of  Burgundy,  on  their  side,  declared  that  they  did  not  wish 
to  separate  from  France. 

Italy,  however,  had  only  escaped  from  the  French  to  fall  into 
the  hands  of  the  imperial  troops.  Francis  then,  impatient  for  ven- 
geance, presented  himself  to  the  people  of  Italy,  no  longer  as  master 
but  as  an  ally ;  he  offered  the  sword  of  France  in  order  to  free  them. 
Venice,  Florence,  Francis  Sforza,  Duke  of  Milan,  and  the  Pope 
appealed  to  him  as  a  liberator,  and  the  King  of  England  himself, 
afraid  of  the  colossal  power  of  Charles  V.,  entered  into  the  Holy 
League  (1526).  In  the  name  of  the  independence  of  Italy  the  Duke 
of  Urbino  raised  an  Italian  army,  but  before  the  French  troops  had 
crossed  the  Alps  the  soldiers  of  the  emperor,  under  the  Constable 
de  B<)urbon,  threw  tlicmselves  upon  Rome,  the  center  of  the  Holy 
League.  The  assault  was  made  on  May  6,  1527.  Bourbon 
perished  while  placing  a  ladder  at  the  foot  of  the  ramparts,  but 
Rome  was  taken,  and  the  imperial  troops  avenged  their  general 
by  sacking  the  Eternal  City  and  by  a  frightful  massacre.  The 
Pope  had  to  su.-.tain  a  Ujug  siege  in  the  castle  of  Saint  Angelo. 


TERRITORIAL     UNITY  1^1 

1527-1532 

Henry  VIII.  and  Francis  I.  resolved  to  set  free  the  Pontiff 
and  Italy,  and  declared  war  against  the  emperor,  who  heajKHl 
reproaches  on  Francis  I.,  and  received  a  challenge  in  answer. 
Lautrec  entered  Lombardy  in  1528,  at  the  head  of  a  French  army, 
and  penetrated  into  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  where  his  troops  were 
destroyed  ijy  an  epidemic,  while  he  himself  was  attacked  and  died. 
Another  French  army,  commanded  by 'Saint-Pol,  was  defeated  and 
dispersed  at  Landriano ;  Saint-Pol  was  taken  prisoner.  France 
also  lost  about  the  same  time  the  assistance  of  the  celebrated 
Genoese  Admiral,  Andrea  Doria.  For  this  able  sailor,  being  treated 
with  disdain  by  Francis  I.,  quitted  his  service  for  that  of  Charles  V., 
and  replaced  Genoa,  his  country,  under  the  protection  of  the  emperur. 

Europe  at  this  period  was  in  fear  of  a  new  INIussulman  inva- 
sion. Rhodes,  in  1523,  after  a  six  months'  siege,  had  surrendered 
to  the  Turks,  and  Charles  V.,  pressed  by  them  and  threatened  by 
the  reformers,  modified  his  pretensions  wMth  regard  to  France. 
New  negotiations  were  opened  at  Cambrai.  by  Louisa  of  Savoy,  in 
the  name  of  her  son,  and  Marguerite  of  Austria,  ruler  of  the  Low 
Countries,  in  the  name  of  the  emperor,  her  nephew.  A  treaty  was 
concluded,  in  which  the  king  abandoned  the  sovereignty  of  Artois 
and  Flanders,  renounced  all  rights  upon  Italy  and  abandoned  all 
his  allies  to  the  resentment  of  the  emperor.  The  duchy  of  Bur- 
grmdy  still  remained  to  the  kingdom.  This  peace,  wdiich  threw 
discredit  on  France  throughout  Europe,  was  signed  in  1529,  and 
w^as  called  the  Ladies'  Peace.  By  it  all  Italy  fell  again,  almost 
without  resistance,  under  the  yoke  of  Charles  V. 

The  fatal  Ladies'  Peace  was  a  new  misfortune  that  France 
owed  to  Louisa  of  Savoy  and  her  confidant  the  Chancellor  Duprat. 
The  shameful  administration  of  this  man  can  only  boast  of  one 
measure  of  positive  utility. 

Francis  I.  until  1532  had  governed  Brittany  only  in  the  quality 
of  duke  of  that  province;  Duprat  counseled  him  to  unite  this  duchy 
in  an  indissoluble  manner  with  the  crown,  and  he  prevailed  upon 
the  states  of  Brittany  tliemselves  to  request  this  reunion,  w^hich 
alone  was  capable  of  preventing  tlie  breaking  out  of  civil  wars  at 
the  death  of  the  king.  It  was  irrevocably  voted  by  the  states 
assembled  at  Vannes  in  1532. 

The  situation  of  l^urope  was  then  almost  everywhere  threat- 
ening or  agitated.  The  greater  part  of  the  princes  and  the  states 
of  Germany  had  admitted  the  new  religious  opinions.       Already 


142  FRANCE 

1532-1535 

Frederic  I.  had  accorded  freedom  of  conscience  to  Denmark,  while 
Gustavus  Vasa  adhered,  with  the  church  of  Sweden,  to  the  con- 
fession of  faith  drawn  up  at  the  diet  of  Augsburg  by  Melancthon. 
The  German  princes,  wlio  were  partisans  of  the  reformation,  united 
in  1531  against  tlie  emperor,  in  the  celebrated  League  of  Smalkalde. 
Lastly,  Henry  VIIL,  in  consequence  of  the  refusal  of  the  Pope  to 
sanction  his  divorce  from  Catherine  of  Aragon  and  his  marriage 
with  Anne  Boleyn,  caused  himself  to  be  proclaimed  the  head  of  the 
Anglican  church.  The  populace  of  a  great  number  of  countries 
became  agitated.  Many  took  up  arms.  The  peasants  of  Suabia 
and  Thuringia  rose  in  insurrection ;  the  latter,  under  the  name  of 
Anabaptists,  followed  the  fanatical  John  of  Leyden,  They  tried  to 
join  with  the  insurgents  of  Franconia,  Alsace,  Lorraine  and  the 
Tyrol,  and  did  great  injury  to  the  cause  of  the  disciples  of  Luther, 
who  united  with  the  Catholics  in  order  to  fight  and  exterminate 
them. 

Such  was  the  religious  state  of  Europe  when  Francis  L  com- 
menced his  persecution  of  the  Lutherans,  or  Protestants.  His  eyes 
were  always  turned  upon  Italy,  the  conquest  of  which  the  Pope 
could  facilitate  for  him,  and  this  motive,  doubtless,  led  him  to 
unite  his  cause  with  that  of  Rome  by  causing  his  second  son,  Henry 
n.,  to  marry  Catherine  de'  Medici,  niece  of  Pope  Clement  VH.  He 
did  not.  however,  obtain  the  advantages  that  he  had  hoped  for  from 
this  union.  The  Pontiff  only  survived  the  marriage  a  short  time, 
and  had  as  successor  Alexander  Farnese,  who  became  Pope  under 
the  name  of  Paul  III.  Francis  L,  nevertheless,  proved  himself  in 
France  a  cruel  persecutor  of  the  Protestants.  He  caused  thirty- 
five  persons  to  be  burnt  alive  in  Paris,  January  25,  1535,  and  imme- 
diately after  he  issued  an  edict  which  proscribed  the  reformers, 
confiscated  their  goods  to  the  profit  of  their  denunciators,  and 
forbade  them  to  print  any  book  on  pain  of  death.  In  the  same 
year,  however,  recognizing  the  necessity  for  relaxing  these  persecu- 
tions, he  issued  a  declaration  of  amnesty,  attributed  in  part  to  the 
influence  of  Antoine  du  Bourg,  successor  to  Duprat  in  charge  of 
the  chancellorship. 

The  Mussulman  invasion  had  made  rapid  progress.  An 
innumerable  Turkish  army,  conducted  across  Hungary  under  the 
wall  of  Vienna,  had  been  repulsed  in  1529.  Barbarossa,  a  famous 
corsair,  had  taken  possession  of  Tunis,  and  covered  the  sea  with 
his  vessels,  pillaging  the  coasts  of  Spain,  France,  and  Italy,  and 


rATiii-:Ki  .\K  HI';    m  i-::i!(  i 


T  E  R  R  I  T  0  R  I  A  L     i:  \  I  T  Y  1 1;5 

1535-1543 

carrying-  off  into  slavery  a  mnltitiule  of  Cliristians  every  year. 
Charles  V.  armed  a  formidable  lleet  ae^ainst  him,  commanded. 
under  his  orders,  by  Andrea  Doria ;  he  conquered  Barbarossa,  look- 
Tunis  and  set  free  twenty  thousand  Christians.  In  the  mean- 
while, Sforza,  Duke  of  Milan,  died  without  issue.  iM-ancis  claimed 
the  inheritance  for  his  second  son.  the  Duke  of  Orleans.  Alreadv. 
France,  without  plausible  motive,  ha<l  declared  war  against  Charles 
III.,  Duke  of  Savoy,  brother-indaw  of  Charles  \'.  Tm-in  and  all 
Piedmont  were  rapidly  invaded  in  1536,  and  the  French  and 
imperial  troops  found  themsehes  in  each  other's  presence  upon  the 
frontiers  of  ]\Iilan.  Hostilities  broke  out;  the  I'rench  army  fed 
back,  and  the  emperor  invaded  Prfncnce  in  the  same  vcar.  1  le 
found  it  a  desert,  as  it  had  been  laid  waste  previonslv  by  the  French 
themselves.  The  imperial  army,  exhausted  by  fan.iine  and  disease. 
retraced  its  steps  without  iiaving-  fou^-ht.  Idic  war  sul)se(|uently 
raged  for  some  time  in  the  Low  Countries  and  Piedmont.  At  last. 
Pope  Paul  III.  arrang'ed  that  a  truce  of  ten  years  should  be  signed 
between  the  rival  monarchs  (Xicc.  1538),  wlio  divided  the  estates 
of  the  unfortunate  Duke  of  Savoy,  and  met,  with  apparent  esteem 
and  friendship,  at  Aigues-Mortes. 

A  revolt  of  Ghent  soon  called  Charles  V.  into  Flanders;  he 
was  then  in  Spain,  and  his  shortest  nnite  was  through  I'^rancc.  He 
requested  permission  to  crrjss  the  kingdom,  and  obtained  it  after 
having  promised  the  Constable  Montmorency  that  he  would  give 
the  investiture  of  Milan  to  the  secontl  son  of  the  king.  This 
promise,  however,  Charles  did  not  keep,  and  the  king,  indign;inl. 
exiled  the  constable  for  having  trusted  the  word  of  the  emi)eror 
without  exacting  his  signature  and  avenged  hiiuself  by  making  an 
alliance  with  the  Turks,  the  mo^t  formidable  enemies  of  the  empii'e. 
The  hatred  of  the  two  monarchs  was  carried  to  its  height  by  these 
last  events;  they  mutually  outraged  each  other  by  injurii^us  libels. 
and  submitted  their  differences  to  the  Pope.  Paul  HI.  refused  to 
decide  between  them,  and  they  again  to(dv  up  arms.  The  king 
invaded  Luxembourg  and  the  dauphin  Rousillon,  and  the  third 
army  Nice  by  land,  while  the  terrible  Ikirbarossa  attacked  it  by  sea. 
The  town  was  taken,  the  castle  akMic  resisted,  and  the  siege  of  it 
was  raised.  The  diet  brought  against  iM-ancis  T.  an  army  of  twenty- 
four  thousand  men,  at  the  head  o^  which  Charles  V.  penetrated 
into  Cham])agne,  while  Tlemw  VI IL.  coalescing  with  the  emperor, 
attacked  Picanly  with  ten  thousand  Fnglish.     The  battle  of  Ccri- 


lU  F  R  A  N  C  E 

1543-1547 

soles,  a  complete  victory,  gained  during-  the  year  1544,  in  Piedmont, 
by  Francis  of  Bourbon,  Dul^e  of  Enghien,  against  the  imperial 
troops,  did  not  stop  this  double  and  formidable  invasion.  Charles 
V.  advanced  almost  to  Chateau-Thierry.  But  discord  reigned  in 
his  army ;  he  ran  short  of  provisions,  and  could  easily  have  been 
surrounded.  He  then  again  promised  Milan  to  the  Duke  of  Orleans, 
the  second  son  of  the  king.  The  war  was  terminated  almost  imme- 
diately afterwards  by  the  Treaty  of  Crespy  near  Laon.  The  emperor 
promised  his  daughter  to  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  with  the  Low 
Countries  and  Franche-Comte,  or  one  of  his  nieces  with  Milan, 
and  gave  up  Burgundy.  Francis  restored  part  of  Piedmont  to  the 
Duke  of  Savoy,  and  renounced  all  pretensions  to  Naples,  Milan, 
Flanders  and  Artois.  The  death  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans  freed  the 
emperor  from  dispossessing  himself  of  iNIilan  or  the  Low  Countries ; 
he  refused  all  compensation  to  the  king,  but  the  peace  was  not 
broken. 

Francis  I.  profited  by  the  peace  to  redouble  his  severity  with 
regard  to  the  I^rotestants.  In  1546  he  sanctioned  the  massacre 
of  many  thousands  of  Waldenses,  who  dwelt  upon  the  confines  of 
Provence  and  the  county  Venaissin,  and  had  entered  into  com- 
munion with  the  Calvinists.  Twenty-two  towns  or  villages  were 
burned  and  sacked ;  the  inhabitants,  surprised  during  the  night, 
were  pursued  among  the  rocks  by  the  glare  of  the  flames  which 
de\-oured  their  houses.  The  men  perished  by  executions,  but  the 
women  were  delivered  over  to  terrible  violence.  This  dreadful  mas- 
sacre was  one  of  the  principal  causes  of  the  religious  wars  which 
desolated  France  for  so  long  a  time. 

Charles  V.  then  crushed  the  Lutherans  in  Germany,  and  main- 
tained the  Catholic  faith  in  Spain  by  the  inquisition,  while  Henry 
VHL  struck  equally  at  both  Catholic  and  Lutheran  sects.  The  war 
continued  between  him  and  Francis  L  The  English  had  taken 
Boulogne,  and  a  French  fleet  ravaged  the  coasts  of  England,  after 
taking  possession  of  the  Lsle  of  Wight.  Hostilities  were  terminated 
by  the  Treaty  of  Guines,  1547,  which  the  two  kings  signed  on  the 
brink  of  their  graves,  and  it  was  arranged  that  Boulogne  should  be 
restored  for  the  sum  of  two  millions  of  gold  crowns.  Henry  VHL 
and  Francis  L  died  in  the  same  year  shortly  after  the  conclusion 
of  this  treaty;  the  latter  had  reigned  for  thirty  years. 


Chapter    IX 

THE    REFORMATION    AM)    THE    HUGUENOT    WARS 

IS47-IS8.J 

HEXRY  IE,  son  of  E'rancis  E.  \v:is  twenty-nine  vcars  of  aL;e 
when  he  ascended  tlic  throne.  He  chani^'ed  the  coun- 
selors of  the  crown,  and  took  into  his  favor  llie  Con- 
stable Montmorency,  who  ruled  him  durini:^  all  his  reit^ii.  The 
Duke  of  Guise  and  the  Cardinal  of  Lorraine,  his  brother.  S()ns  of 
Duke  Rene  of  Lorraine,  ^tontniorency.  Diana  of  I'oictiers,  stvkvl 
the  mistress  of  the  king-,  and  lastly,  the  (|ucen.  C"al]ierine  de'  Medici. 
endowed  with  a  supjjle  and  ])rofoundly  dissimulatini;-  mind,  were 
at  the  head  of  each  of  the  four  factions  which  di\idcd  the  court. 
One  of  the  nrst  edicts  of  tlie  new  king-  condemned  heretics  to  be 
burned  alive.  Another  assigned  to  the  ])rov(Xsts  of  the  marshals  the 
trial  of  assassins,  smu.yp^lers.  jioachcrs.  and  jieople  who  were  not 
known.  This  edict,  wdiich  deh\ere(l  (wer  the  li\es  of  the  citizens 
to  arbitrary  judg'ment.  was  ineffectuallv  resisted  bv  the  magistracv. 
A  serious  revolt  broke  out  in  1554.  in  the  proxances  beyond  th.e 
Loire,  wdiere  the  tax  Uj)on  salt  had  been  recently  established  by 
Francis  E  I'lvitou  and  (iuienne  rose;  at  Eordeaux.  abiwe  adl.  the 
populace  committed  great  excesses.  Idie  king  sent  Montmorenc\- 
to  the  disaffected  citv  with  promises  of  justice  and  satisfaction,  but 
he  exercised  a  horrible  \-engeance  nn  the  iiiiiabitanls.  Hundred- 
were  executed,  and  man}-  of  the  sufferers  were  broken  on  the  wdieel 
alive.  A  fine  of  two  hundred  thousand  livres  w-as  levied  on  tlie 
citizens,  and  the  citv  was  deprived  of  its  privileges  and  only  recov- 
ered them  in  the  folhwving  year. 

France  had  hardly  taken  breath  for  a  year,  wdien  war  broke 
out  anew.  ITenrv  IE  supported  (^ttavio  E\arnese,  lOuke  (^\  Parma. 
against  Pope  fulius  ]IE  and  the  emperor.  The  latter  had  gained. 
in  1547,  the  famous  battle  of  Muhli)erg  over  the  C(~>nfcvlerates  of 
Smalkalde.  The  xenerable  hh-ederic.  h'lector  of  .'>ax(^ny,  and  the 
Landgrave  of  Eiesse  had  fallen  into  his  j)ower.  Charles  \'.  com- 
pelled the  former  tt)  cede  his  electorate,  which  he  ga\e  to  Mauiice 


146 


F  R  A  N  C  E 


1547-1552 

of  Saxony,  son-in-law  of  the  landgrave.  The  Protestant  league 
then  implored  the  support  of  Henry  II.,  who  granted  it  on  condi- 
tion that  he  should  occupy  the  town  of  Cambray  and  the  bishoprics 
of  Aletz,  Toul,  and  Verdun,  to  guard  them  as  vicar  of  the  empire. 
He  soon  seized  them,  and  although  he  declared  himself  the  defender 
of  independence  in  Germany,  he  aggravated  the  punishments  of  the 
Protestants  in  France  and  established  there  an  inquisitor  of  the 
faith.  An  unexpected  success  rendered  the  support  of  Plenry  H. 
unnecessary  to  the  Lutherans  of  Germany.  Young  jMaurice  of 
Saxony  suddenly  marched  by  forced  journeys  upon  Innsbruck, 
where  the  emperor,  ill  and  almost  alone,  was  nearly  taken  by  sur- 


TEZE 

THRES    BISHOPRICS 
UORRAINE 


prise.  Compelled  to  yield,  Charles  signed  with  the  Protestants, 
in  1552,  the  Convention  of  Passau,  changed  three  years  later,  at  the 
diet  of  Augsburg,  into  a  definite  peace.  The  era  of  religious  lib- 
erty in  Germany  dates  from  that  time. 

France  had  no  part  in  these  great  events,  but  she  preserved 
the  price  of  her  alliance  in  keeping  the  three  bishoprics,  in  spite  of 
the  efforts  of  the  emperor  to  take  them.  Hostilities  were  still 
prolonged  between  that  prince  and  Henry  II.  for  three  years.  The 
principal  events  of  the  war  were: — The  immortal  defense  of  Metz 
by  the  Duke  of  Guise,  in  1552,  against  Charles  V.;  the  invasion  of 


THE     R  i:  FORM  AT  I  ()  \  117 

1552-1557 

I^icanly  l)y  the  imperial  army,  and  (if  Ilaiiianll  hy  tlic  I'rcncli  army  : 
the  conquest  of  ITcs(hn  l)y  1  Icnry  11. :  tlie  1m-s  of  Thc'roucnnr.  wliich 
Charles  V.  razed  to  the  i^rMund;  the  battle  <d'  Kenti,  in  hdanders. 
where  Guise,  Coli.qiii  and  Taxannes  distinguished  tliemselves ; 
lastly,  the  defense  of  Sienna  hy  Montlue;  tlie  raxai^inc;  <'f  tlic  coa-^ts 
of  Italy  by  Dra.c^ut,  an  Ottoman  admiral  allied  xvith  the  h'reneh, 
and  the  fine  campaion  made  in  riednmnt  a^:;ainst  the  Onke  of  Alxa 
by  Marshal  Ih'issac.  After  these  wars,  tlie  adxanta,<;cs  of  whieli 
were  equally  balanced,  and  in  the  course  of  the  threat  troubles  in 
Germany,  caused  by  the  death  of  Maurice  of  Saxony,  and  the 
rivalry  between  Charles  \'.  and  his  br(Ulier  I'erdinand,  Kincf  of  the 
Romans  and  hereditary  soxerei^n  of  I'oliemia.  tlicre  xxas  opened  at 
Augsburg  a  celebrated  diet,  in  wliicli  it  was  decreed  that  the  Cath- 
olic and  Lutheran  states  should  exercise  their  w(n.-shi]i  in  freedom; 
and  that  it  should  be  left  to  the  cixil  poxvcr  of  each  state  to  regulate 
its  doctrine  and  religion.  Such  was.  in  great  part.  t!ie  decree 
of  the  Diet  of  Augsburg  of  Sei)tcmber  25,  1555.  an.d  upon  it 
for  a  long  time,  the  religious  peace  of  Germany  re])osed.  This 
decree  struck  a  fatal  blow  at  the  jvilicy  of  Charles  \'.,  whose  object 
was  always  to  maintain  the  unity  of  the  church  under  his  sole 
dependence.  Convinced  that  all  would  i)erish  when  he  could  n(^t 
direct  everything  himself,  he  convoked  the  notables  of  the  Low 
Countries  at  Brussels,  and  there  on  October  25,  1555.  he  sol- 
emnly abdicated  his  hereditary  crown,  and  jjlaced  it  in  the  hands 
of  I'hilip  II.,  his  son.  He  still  held  the  imperial  croxxn  for  si.-: 
months;  then  he  retired  to  the  convent  of  the  1  lieronymites  of  San 
Yuste,  where  he  died,  Scpttember  21,  1558.  1  lis  brother  I'erdinand, 
King  of  the  Romans,  was  his  successor  in  the  empire. 

As  soon  as  Philip  had  ascended  the  throne,  Henry  TI.  signed 
a  treaty  with  him  at  V^aucelles.  in  1555.  of  xxhich  the  princii)al 
clause  was  a  truce  of  five  years.  In  virtue  of  this  treaty,  Paul  1\'.. 
who  declared  that  Charles  V.  xvas  jirixy  to  a  plot  against  his  life. 
urged  Plenry  to  make  war  against  tlie  empire,  promising  to  h.im, 
by  a  treaty  signed  at  Rome,  the  investiture  of  the  kingdom  of 
Naples. 

Two  parties  then  divided  the  court  of  France:  the  young 
nobility  wished  for  x\'ar;  Alontmcrcncv  xxtis  inclined  for  jicace,  and 
wisely  advised  the  king  to  maintain  it.  1  loslih'ties.  hoxvcx'cr.  broke 
out  suddenly  l)ctxveen  the  Po])C  and  the  Spaniards,  in  T557.  and  x\ar 
was  ixsolved  upon.       A  h^rench  army,  under  the  orders  of  the  con- 


148  FRANC  E 

1557-1559 

stable  and  his  nephew,  CoHgny,  entered  Into  Artois,  and  another 
into  Italy,  under  the  Diike  of  Guise.  The  first  was  completely  van- 
quished through  the  fault  of  the  Constable  Montmorency.  The 
road  to  Paris  was  open,  but  the  indecision  of  the  conquerors  saved 
France  from  great  disasters.  Guise  was  recalled  from  Italy,  and 
signalized  his  return  by  a  memorable  exploit.  Mary  of  England, 
who  had  married  Philip  II.  of  Spain,  had  sent  troops  into  Artois 
to  act  in  concert  with  those  of  her  husband.  To  punish  her  inter- 
ference, the  duke  surprised  Calais  and  retook  it  for  France  after  it 
had  remained  for  two  hundred  and  ten  years  in  the  power  of  the 
English.  France  lost  in  the  same  year  the  battle  of  Gravelines. 
These  two  events  were  followed  by  the  Peace  of  Chateau-Cam- 
bresis,  signed  in  1559.  It  was  called  "The  Unfortunate  Peace." 
Henry  II.  gave  ui)  his  conquests  with  the  exception  of  the  three 
bishoprics ;  he  renounced  all  his  rights  upon  Genoa,  Corsica,  the 
kingdom  of  Naples,  and  only  retained  in  Piedmont,  Pignerol  and 
some  fortresses. 

Henry,  in  order  to  provide  for  the  expenses  of  the  war  and 
tliose  of  a  prodigal  and  dissolute  court,  had  recourse  to  deplorable 
expedients.  He  sold  by  auction  new  judgeships  and  offices  of  all 
kinds  and  compelled  most  public  officers  to  purchase  their  title  to 
office  anew.  He  established  by  the  same  means  a  parlement  in 
Brittany,  and  caused  an  edict  of  inquisition  to  be  bought  by  the 
clergy;  lastly,  he  gave  the  name  of  assembly  of  notables  to  a  body 
of  clergy  and  nobles,  chosen  by  himself  and  devoted  to  his  will,  and 
he  disguised  under  the  name  of  loans  the  taxes  that  he  exacted 
from  them. 

The  Edict  of  Inquisition  which  he  sold  to  the  clergy  was  not 
executed,  as  the  Parlement  of  Paris  resisted  it.  This  resistance 
was  not  offered  through  pity  for  the  sectarians,  but  because  the 
Parlement  was  jealous  of  its  rights  and  did  not  wish  that  another 
tribunal  should  have  the  privilege  of  prosecuting  heresy  and  punish- 
ing it.  Henry  did  not  support  his  edict  and  the  inquisition  did  not 
take  root  in  France. 

The  foreign  war  had,  towards  the  end  of  this  reign,  wrought 
some  relaxation  in  the  Catholic  persecutions.  The  Protestants 
grew  bold,  and  manv  princes  of  the  blood  royal,  and  with  them 
illustrious  warriors  and  magistrates,  embraced  the  new  belief.  11ie 
court  and  clergy  feared  that  the  opposition  shown  by  the  Parlement 
to  the  Edict  of  Inquisition  would  cause  the  Protestants  to  escape 


T  IT  E     R  E  F  ()  R  M  A  T  I  ()  X  1 49 

1559 

punishment,  and  tlie  powerful  Cardinal  nf  f.orrainc  persuaded  the 
king  that  it  \wi>  his  duly  to  eensnre  the  rarlenient  in  juax  mi  and 
order  the  cxccntinn  of  several  coiniselors  who  were  known  to  he 
Protestants  or  to  favor  tlie  reformed  faith;  while  one  of  his  min- 
isters, De  Vieilleville.  afterwards  marshal  of  iM-anee,  recommended 
him  to  leave  the  Parlement  to  itself  and  the  ])nnishment  of  heresy 
to  the  Cardinal  of  Lorraine  and  the  priests.  The  cardinal's  i)artv. 
however,  ultimately  prevailed  with  the  king,  who  went  to  the 
chamher  where  the  Parlement  was  assemhled  and  ordered  the 
arrest  of  Anne  of  Bourg.  Lcniis  of  Faui",  and  five  or  six  others  who 
chose  to  sustain  in  his  presence  the  right  of  freedom  of  opinion  with 
regard  to  religion.  These  brave  and  devoted  men  Ilenrv-  placed 
in  the  hands  of  Montgomery,  the  captain  of  his  guard,  and  made 
him  give  instructions  for  their  trial. 

The  French  Calvinists  held  in  1559  their  first  synod,  and 
regulated  the  constitutions  which  should  maintain  in  union  their 
scattered  societies,  and  rule  them  under  the  same  discipline.  The 
king  received  the  news  in  the  midst  of  the  fetes  of  the  marriage  of 
Elizabeth,  his  daughter,  with  Philip  II.,  widower  of  Queen  ]\lary 
Tudor  of  England.  He  swore  that  he  would  punish  those  whom  he 
considered  as  rebels.  His  death  prevented  the  accomplishment  of 
his  vow.  Wounded  in  the  eye,  at  a  joust,  by  the  lance  of  Mont- 
gomery, he  died  of  the  wound  after  a  reign  of  twelve  years.  He 
left  four  sons,  of  whom  three  wore  the  crown.  Francis,  the  eldest, 
had  married  Alary  Stuart,  Oneen  of  Scotland,  celebrated  as  much 
for  her  misfortunes  as  for  her  beauty  (1559). 

Francis  11.  ascended  the  throne  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years. 
Under  this  young  prince,  in  spite  of  his  legal  majority,  the  ])ower 
w'as  divided  between  l-'rancis,  Duke  of  Guise,  his  brother,  the  Cardi- 
nal of  Lorraine,  and  the  queen-mother,  Catherine  de'  Medici.  Idie 
characteristic  trait  of  this  (jueen,  who  played  so  great  a  part  under 
the  reigns  of  her  three  sons,  was  a  profound  dissimulation,  united 
with  an  intriguing  and  corrupt  spirit.  The  i)arty  opposed  to  Cath- 
erine and  the  princes  of  Lorraine  w;is  that  of  Anthony  of  Bourbon, 
King  of  Xavarre,  and  of  Lcniis  of  Conde,  his  brother,  both  princes 
of  the  blood  royal,  issue  of  Robert,  Count  of  Clermont,  youngest 
son  of  Saint  Louis.  It  was  to  them  that  the  old  Constable  of  Mont- 
morency, without  credit  at  the  court  and  disgraced  by  the  (pieen- 
mother,  came  and  rallied  against  the  Guises.  Secret  conferences 
were  held  at  Vendome  between  all  the  malcontents,  the  object  of 


150  FRANCE 

1559-1560 

which  was  to  convoke  the  Estates-General  and  take  away  the  power 
from  the  Guises.  The  kitter,  informed  concerning  these  hostile 
projects,  and  knowing  the  weakness  of  Anthony  of  Bourbon,  pre- 
vented further  opposition  on  his  part  by  showing  him  a  letter  from 
Philip  II.  of  Spain,  in  which  he  promised  to  sustain  in  France,  at 
any  cost,  the  authority  of  the  king  and  his  ministers. 

The  Guises  triumphed.  They  then  hastened  to  work  out  the 
destruction  of  Protestantism  in  France,  and  caused  the  trial  of  the 
counselor,  Anne  of  Bourg,  to  be  proceeded  wath.  This  brave  man 
persisted  in  his  faith,  which  he  was  ready  to  confirm  with  his 
blood.  From  that  time  his  fate  was  sealed.  Still,  he  could  not 
perish  without  being  avenged ;  it  was  unfortunately  by  an  assassin, 
Minard,  his  enemy,  and  the  president  of  the  council  before  which 
he  was  tried,  was  killed  by  a  pistol-shot.  This  was  the  sinister  signal 
for  a  bloody  persecution.  Sentence  of  death  was  pronounced 
against  Bourg,  and  he  was  executed  on  December  23,  1559.  They 
spared  him  the  pain  of  the  fire,  having  the  grace  to  strangle  him 
before  throwing  him  into  the  flames.  The  death  of  Bourg  seemed 
to  give  a  new  activity  to  the  persecution.  The  Cardinal  of  Lor- 
raine designed,  as  he  had  already  done  for  Francis  I.,  a  particular 
chamber,  charged  w4th  punishing  the  reformers.  Fire  was  the 
chastisement  which  it  pronounced  against  them,  and  the  cruelty  of 
its  judgments  gave  to  it  the  frightful  nickname  of  "  The  Burning 
Chamber." 

The  Peace  of  Chauteau-Cambresis  had  left  without  employ- 
ment a  crowd  of  gentlemen  and  soldiers  whose  only  resource  was 
war.  A  great  number  came  to  the  court  to  petition,  some  for  that 
which  was  due  to  them,  others  for  pensions  and  pardons.  The 
Cardinal  of  Lorraine  threatened  to  hang  all  the  petitioners  who  per- 
sisted in  their  importunities,  and  these  men  united  with  the  nobles 
who  were  enemies  to  the  tyranny  of  the  Guises,  and  formed  with 
them  the  party  of  "  Malcontents,"  wdiich  doubled  its  forces  by  ally- 
ing itself  with  the  Protestants.  The  latter  counted  with  pride  in  their 
ranks  the  Prince  of  Conde,  a  man  of  heart  and  head,  brother  of 
the  King  of  Navarre,  and  the  three  brothers  Chatillon,  of  whom  the 
eldest.  Admiral  Coligny,  was  the  most  illustrious  among  the  Protest- 
ant chiefs  of  France :  Dandelot,  one  of  his  brothers,  commanded  the 
French  infantry ;  while  his  other  brother,  Odet  Chatillon,  a  skillful 
diplomatist,  had  secretly  embraced  the  reformed  faith,  and  was 
married,  although  he  was  Bishop  of  Beauvais  and  cardinal.    These 


T  1 1  i:     R  !•:  F  C)  R  M  A  T  I  ( )  N  1 51 

1560 

men  became  eminent  nnKmo-  tlie  chiefs  of  the  (h'saffccte^l  part  v.  A 
vast  plot,  known  in  hislory  nndei"  the  name  of  the  C'onspirary  of  Am- 
biMse,  was  tlien  formed,  in  \^()0.  in  secret  hv  the  enemies  of  tlie 
government,  Catholic  and  rroiestanl.  'i'heir  object  was  to  carry 
off  the  king-,  to  r(.'niove  him  from  the  inllnence  of  the  finises,  to  ar- 
rest the  latter,  and  to  canse  them  to  be  tried  as  gnilty  of  high  treason. 
The  Guises,  under  vague  suspicion,  removed  the  court  from  the 
chateau  of  Blois  to  that  of  Amboise.  The  conspirat(-)r5  persevered 
in  their  project  with  an  incredil)]e  audacity,  but  a  traitor  in  their 
ranks  revealed  their  plans  to  the  (uhses.  An  attack  made  upon 
the  chateau  of  Aiuboise  on  March  iT).  i~,C)0,  was  frustrated  by 
troops  called  together  in  haste  by  the  Ciuises.  A  collision  t(»(4< 
place,  but  the  followers  of  Conde  and  Culignv  were  disperseil  and 
the  executions  began.  The  vengence  of  the  (hn'ses  was  atrocious. 
The  waters  of  the  Loire  carried  away  a  multitude  of  corpses;  the 
streets  of  Amboise  ran  v/ith  human  blood.  For  a  month  they  did 
nothing  but  behead,  hang  and  drown.  Conde  himself  was  in  peril, 
but  he  escaped  immediate  danger  by  boldly  aj)[)earing  at  court  .and 
justifying  himself  before  the  king;  he  caused  his  accusers  to  be 
silent,  but  not  the  suspicions,  and  civil  war  a]:)peared  imminent. 

The  two  parties  met  together  in  arms  at  lM»ntainebleau,  in  1560, 
where  the  Guises  had  convoked  the  ])rincipal  magistrates  to  consult 
concerning  the  means  of  establishing  ])eace.  Coligny  in  this  assem- 
jjly  presented  uselessly  a  petition  in  the  name  of  fifty  thousand 
rcUgionnaircs,  as  those  of  the  reformed  religion  were  called,  who 
asked  i)ermission  to  pray  to  G(jd  according  to  their  hearts.  The 
assembly  requested  that  the  l^states-General  be  called  together,  and 
the  princes  of  Lorraine  acquiesced  in  tliis  wish.  On  both  sitles 
plots  were  woven.  Orleans  had  been  fixed  uixrn  as  the  place  of 
meeting  for  the  Fstates;  the  king  betook  himself  there  with  .a 
threatening  display.  1"he  two  ijourljon  princes  were  drriwn  there 
Ijy  the  Guises.  The  King  of  Xa\-arre  ran  ihe  risk  of  his  life  in  an 
audience  which  Francis  11.  ga\e  him,  and  Conde  was  made  prisoner. 
A  commissi(jn,  a])pointed  by  the  Guises,  condeiuned  Conde  to  lose 
his  head.  The  death  of  the  feeble  Francis  Ik,  in  1  5(')0,  prevented 
the  execution  of  the  prince.  This  reign  finished  under  the  most 
sinister  auspices,  'ihe  wise  rind  \irtuous  Michel  de  fllopita],  the 
chancellor  of  the  kingdom,  made  the  greatest  effort  to  prevent 
the  Guises  from  introducing  into  I'^rancc  the  execrable  tribunal  of 
the  inc[uisition,  but  he  could  only  succeed  in   it  by  publishing  the 


152  FRANCE 

1560-1562 

Edict  of  Romorantin,  which  attributed  to  tlie  prelates  of  the  king-- 
dom  the  knowledg-e  of  the  crimes  of  licresy,  Alay,  1560.  Tlie 
Parlement  modified  tliis  edict  before  registering  it,  and  permitted 
the  laity  to  have  recourse  to  the  judge  royal. 

Charles  IX.  was  only  ten  years  old  when  he  succeeded  his 
brother,  Francis  II.  The  Estates-General,  still  assembled  at  Or- 
leans, decreed  the  regency  to  Catherine  de'  Medici,  and  recognized 
the  King  of  Narvarre  in  his  quality  of  lieutenant-general  of  the 
kingdom.  The  Chancellor  I'Hopital  had  refused  to  sign  the  arrest 
which  condemned  to  death  the  Prince  of  Conde.  Catherine  de' 
Medici,  by  her  counsel,  declared  Conde  innocent  of  the  crime  of 
which  he  was  accused,  and  Montmorency  was  recalled  to  the  court, 
where,  nevertheless,  the  Guises  remained  powerful  and  formidable. 

The  queen-mother  played  fast  and  loose  between  the  two 
parties,  at  one  time  relying  on  the  Guises  and  the  Catholics,  at  an- 
other attaching  herself  to  the  Protestants  and  the  Bourbons.  The 
former  sought  the  support  of  the  gloomy  and  cruel  Philip  II.,  King 
of  Spain,  and  gained  over  the  constable  to  their  side  on  the  plea 
that  the  Catholic  religion  was  endangered.  The  Marshal  Saint 
Andre  was  also  gained  over  to  the  side  of  the  Lorraine  princes 
and  formed  with  the  constable  and  Francis  of  Guise  a  league  which 
received  the  name  of  the  triumvirate.  An  edict,  dated  in  the  month 
of  July,  1 561,  granted  to  the  Protestants  an  amnesty  for  the  past 
and  ordered  them  to  live  in  the  Catholic  religion  under  pain  of 
prison  and  exile ;  death  would  no  longer  be  pronounced  against 
them.  This  edict  only  made  malcontents  and  was  never  observed. 
The  queen  endeavored  to  bring  together  Francis  of  Guise  and 
Conde ;  they  embraced  each  other,  but  remained  mortal  enemies. 

The  Estates-General  assembled  in  the  course  of  the  year  at 
Pontoise.  The  electors  were  assembled  by  province,  and,  each  of 
the  thirteen  provinces  having  only  named  one  deputy  from  each 
order,  thirty-nine  members  alone  sat  in  the  Estates.  In  the  same 
year  a  celebrated  assembly  was  held,  under  the  name  of  the  Con- 
ference of  Poissy,  in  which  the  Cardinal  of  Lorraine  invited  the 
Protestant  ministers  to  discuss  with  him  and  the  Catholic  bishops 
the  principal  points  ui  the  two  religions.  The  discussion  finished 
like  all  theological  disputes :  each  one  remained  more  firmly  fixed 
than  ever  in  his  own  opinion. 

The  Edict  of  July  was  not  observed  in  any  particular:  the 
Protestants  braved  it  oiicnly,  and  united  together  in  a  greiit  number 


THE     U  KFOllM  AT  I  OX  1.5:5 

1562 

of  places.  Catherine  de'  ^VFedici  tlien  ,q-ave  an  order  t-^  all  ilie 
parlcments  to  appoint  deputies  who  should  assist  in  formiui;"  an 
edict  more  suilahle  to  the  circumstances.  This  new  assembly.  hel<l 
ill  1562,  was  ])resided  over  by  L'llopital.  and  the  wise  b'dict  ot" 
January  was  the  result,  it  was  therein  decreed  that  the  Calvinists 
should  gave  up  the  usurped  churches,  keep  the  fete  days,  and  respect 
the  exterior  acts  of  the  Catholic  religion;  thev  were  permitted, 
however,  to  meet  together,  in  order  to  exercise  their  religion  out- 
side the  towns,  but  without  arms.  This  celebrated  edict  was  web 
corned  by  the  Calvinists  with  an  enthusiasm  which  doubled  their 
confidence,  wdiile  tlie  C:itholics  received  it  in  a  stern  and  mournful 
silence.  The  peace  that  it  maintained  between  them  was  of  bhort 
duration;  each  party  strengthened  and  ])re|)are(l  itself  Urr  uar.  Tiie 
Guises  had  drawn  to  them  the  King  of  Xavarrc;  while  Conde.  his 
brother,  declared  himself  chief  of  the  rrotestant<.  towards  whom 
the  queen-mother  ai)peared  then  to  incline.  d"he  Catholics,  alarmed 
at  the  favor  which  C(MKle  enjo\-ed.  called  Cuise  to  Paris.  1  le  passcl 
through  the  little  town  of  \'as-,y.  in  Champagi^e,  at  the  time  when 
the  Protestants  were  assembled  in  wt/rship.  llis  fanatical  troMp, 
fell  upon  them  sword  in  han-d,  and  sixtv  Cal\-inists  were  >laughtere'! ; 
this  massacre  loecame  the  signal  for  wai".  Cui.^e  entered  Paris  a.>  a 
conqueror,  amid  the  cheers  of  the  ])eopic.  The  two  parties  in 
arms  watched  each  other  for  mrmy  days  in  L'aris,  and  the  (juecii, 
in  order  to  pre\"ent  the  shedding  of  blood,  arranged  with  their 
chiefs,  Guise  and  Conde.  that  they  siiould  ]ea\-e  the  capital.  'J'hey 
obeyed,  but  in  order  to  unite  their  partisans  and  to  prei)are  them- 
selves for  war. 

Conde  thought  of  making  himself  master  of  the  person  (^li 
Charles  IX.,  but  the  triunnirate  prevented  him.  They  remi)ved  the 
young  king"  to  h\)ntaineblcau.  and  c^  luhicted  him  to  l'aris.  whei"e 
Catherine  h.erself  accomj):uiie(l  him.  The  constaljle  commenced 
open  war  by  attacking  and  burning  se\-eral  Protestant  churches  in 
Paris.  Conde,  Admiral  CTligny,  and  his  l)r(;ther  Dandelot  hastened 
immediately  in  Orleans,  -awd  assembled  there  their  forces.  Poih 
sides  had  recourse  to  foreign  aid:  the  ( iniscs  were  sup])orted  by  tlic 
King  of  Si)ain  and  the  1  )uke  of  Sax^y  :  the  Calvinists  negotiatcii 
with  Fdi/.abeth.  and  called  into  L'"rance  a  Ixid)  of  (ieianan  knights. 
The  armv  of  the  llngnennis.  or  rrotestanis.  was  remarkable  loi-  ii- 
line  and  se\-ere  disci])line.  hut  i)nth  leadei's  and  men  were  inspirei! 
bv  a  fanaticisrii  as  glunnix'  and  as  cruel  as  that  of  the  Catholic  arnix'. 


154  FRANC  E 

1562-1563 

The  most  frightful  atrocities  were  committed  by  both  sides  in  cold 
blood.  Beangency  was  carried  by  assault  by  the  Protestants ;  Blois, 
Tours,  Poictiers,  and  Rouen  experienced  first  all  the  fury  of  this 
atrocious  war.  The  town  of  Rouen,  defended  by  Montgomery,  the 
involuntary  murderer  of  Plenry  IL,  had  been  besieged  by  the  King 
of  Navarre,  Anthony  of  Bourbon,  who  was  slain  under  its  walls. 

Of  all  the  great  towns  of  France  which  he  had  taken,  Conde 
possessed  only  Lyons  and  Orleans,  when  the  two  armies,  the  one 
commanded  by  that  prince  and  the  other  by  the  constable,  met  near 
Dreux  in  1562.  The  Protestants  were  defeated;  Conde  himself 
was  made  a  prisoner,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  Montmorency  was 
taken  and  the  Marshal  Saint  Andre  killed.  This  new  triumph, 
the  captivity  of  the  constable  and  that  of  Conde,  the  death  of  An- 
thony of  Bourbon  and  of  Marshal  Saint  Andre,  rendered  Francis 
of  Guise  the  most  powerful  man  in  the  kingdom.  He  was  appointed 
lieutenant-general,  and  hastened  to  march  upon  Orleans,  the  siege 
of  which  he  pressed.  This  was  the  end  of  his  success  and  of  his 
life.  A  Protestant,  John  Poltrot  of  Mere,  assassinated  him  by 
shooting  him  with  a  pistol ;  his  death  was  the  safety  of  Orleans. 

The  ascendency  which  the  death  of  Francis  of  Guise  had  given 
to  Conde,  led  Catherine  to  propose  peace,  and  the  prince,  unknown 
to  Coligny,  and  without  sufficient  guarantee,  accepted  terms  which 
granted  to  the  Protestant  seigniors  and  nobles  the  right  to  exercise 
their  religion  in  their  seigniories  or  houses.  The  bourgeoisie  obtained 
liberty  of  conscience,  but  they  could  only  exercise  their  religion  in 
one  town  of  each  bailiwick  and  in  the  places  which  were  in  possession 
of  the  Protestants.  The  death  of  the  Duke  of  Guise  had  placed  the 
party  of  Conde  in  a  position  to  dictate  peace,  and  this  treaty,  called 
the  Convention  of  Amboise  (1563),  was  received  with  indignation 
by  Coligny,  by  Calvin,  and  by  the  Protestant  chiefs.  Peace,  how- 
ever, was  taken  advantage  of  in  order  to  attack  the  foreigners,  and 
the  constable,  at  the  head  of  the  rest  of  the  royal  army,  drove  the 
English  from  Havre,  and  the  clergy  paid  the  expenses  of  the  ex- 
pedition. Its  goods,  by  the  advice  of  L'Hopital,  were  alienated  to 
the  value  of  a  hundred  thousand  crowns  per  annum.  After  the 
Convention  of  Amboise  Conde  forgot  himself  for  a  time  among 
the  pleasures  of  the  court.  A  frightful  plot  for  a  general  massacre 
of  the  Protestants,  contrived  by  the  Constable  Montmorency,  was 
baffled  by  the  fiueen-mother,  but  the  thunders  of  the  Vatican,  the 
anathemas  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  the  entreaties  of  foreign  princes. 


T  H  E     11  K  F  ()  R  M  A  IM  0  \  1 5.", 

1563-1567 

all  excited  the  passions  of  the  Catholies.  and  cvcrylhinL;-  ]>rc>a.L;-ed 
that  peace  would  be  of  short  duration.  At  this  period  |e;uiiic 
d'Albret,  Queen  of  Xa\arre.  and  widow  of  AntliMny  ,,f  r,(.urhMn. 
having  been  sus])ected  and  convicted  of  heresy,  a  bull  declared  her 
deprived  of  her  royal  dignity,  and  delivered  up  the  states  to  the 
first  occupant. 

The  Council  of  Trent  approaclied  its  end.  after  having  existed 
twenty-one  years  from  its  first  session.  Before  dissolving  it  issued 
some  important  decisions  c(jncerning  dogmas  and  discii)line.  All 
concessions  to  the  spirit  of  the  times  was  studiously  refused,  l-'rance 
accepted  the  acts  of  the  council  relative  to  dogmas,  but  refused  to 
be  bound  by  those  which  referred  to  discipline,  as  being  ccMitrary 
to  the  principles  of  the  Gallican  church.  The  council  was  dissolved 
in  December,   1563. 

Charles  IX.,  in  1564,  summoned  at  ^Moulins  an  assembly  of  the 
notables,  to  which  were  called,  for  the  purj)ose  of  conciliation,  the 
Duke  of  Guise,  Admiral  Coligny,  and  a  great  number  ui  ])rinces  and 
nobles,  and  the  presidents  of  the  different  parlements.  During  the 
session  of  this  assemldy  L'llopital  caused  many  celebrated  ordi- 
nances to  be  passed,  known  under  the  name  of  the  Juliets  <.)(  Moulins, 
embracing,  among  others,  a  code  of  reformation  for  justice,  based  on 
princi])les  full  of  moderation  and  ecjuity.  But  all  his  efforts,  zeal- 
ously continued  during  the  three  years  that  preceded  the  next  appeal 
to  arms,  failed  to  bring  together  the  Guises  and  the  Chatillons.  The 
latter  had  only  too  much  cause  for  alarm.  JA'crywhere  the  Con- 
vention of  Amboisc  was  violated  by  the  Catholics.  Catherine  ne- 
gotiated with  Philip  II.  for  the  destruction  of  the  Protestant  chiefs. 
and  the  Swiss  guards,  created  by  Louis  XL,  were  at  the  same  time 
strongly  augmented.  These  ])recautions  gave  umbrage  to  the 
Protestants.  They  had  warning  of  the  ]M-ojects  of  their  enemies, 
and  sought  to  prevent  them  by  instant  action,  ddie  admiral  and 
Conde  called  their  party  to  arms,  and  the  second  civil  war  was 
declared.  The  first  imj)ortant  conllict  in  this  war  was  the  drawn 
battle  of  St.  Denis,  fought  in  15^)7,  in  which  the  old  constable  lost 
his  life. 

Although  the  battle  of  St.  Denis  had  no  decisive  result,  Cath- 
erine, alarmed  by  the  earnestness  with  which  the  lhx)tcstants  threw 
themselves  into  the  strife,  again  made  advances  for  peace,  offering 
ff)r  the  future  to  obserx-e  the  Con\-ention  of  Amboisc  with  strictness. 
Pier  proposal  was  accepted,  contrary  to  the  advice  of  the  [)rincipal 


156  FRANCE 

1567-1570 

chiefs,  and  the  two  parties  signed  a  second  peace  at  Long-jnmean. 
The  people  who  foresaw  the  motives  and  results  gave  to  it  the  name 
of  the  "  Badly  Established  Peace  "  (1568)  ;  it  suspended  hostilities 
with  diflknilty,  but  assassinations  multiplied. 

L'Hopital  endeavored  without  success  to  conciliate  the  op- 
posing parties.  By  the  intrigues  of  the  Catholics  he  was  compelled 
to  surrender  the  seals  of  office  and  retire  to  his  estates,  where  he 
passed  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

L'Hopital  having  retired  from  public  affairs,  nothing  could 
restrain  the  rage  of  the  factions.  The  queen-mother  herself  seemed 
to  have  renounced  temporizing  and  prudence.  She  endeavored,  but 
vainly,  to  take  by  surprise  the  Protestant  chiefs.  Then  there  ap- 
peared edicts  thundering  against  the  Calvinists,  and  their  religion 
was  forbidden  throughout  the  kingdom,  on  w^hich  they  took  up 
arms  in  all  parts.  The  Catholic  army,  under  the  Duke  of  Anjou 
and  Marshal  Tavannes,  met  the  Protestant  army,  commanded  by 
Conde,  upon  the  banks  of  the  Charente,  near  Jarnac  ( 1569).  There 
a  sanguinary  and  unequal  combat  took  place,  sustained  by  the  cav- 
alry of  the  prince  alone,  against  all  the  forces  of  the  Catholics,  The 
Protestants  were  beaten;  Conde,  who  defended  himself  like  a  hero, 
although  his  leg  had  been  broken  at  the  beginning  of  the  action  by 
a  kick  from  a  horse,  was  forced  to  surrender ;  but  soon,  Montesquiou, 
captain  of  the  guards  of  the  Duke  of  Anjou,  rushed  in  and  assassi- 
nated the  prince  in  a  cowardly  manner  by  a  pistol-shot.  Thus  died 
Louis  of  Conde,  who  had  scarcely  attained  his  thirty-ninth  year. 

The  court  was  wdld  with  triumph,  but  the  Queen  of  Navarre, 
Jeanne  d'Albret,  a  woman  of  great  piety  and  of  noble  courage,  re- 
animated the  hopes  of  her  party.  She  repaired  to  Cognac,  in 
Angoumois,  in  1569,  where  the  remains  of  the  Calvinistic  army 
were  assembled,  and  presented  to  the  soldiers  Henry,  her  son,  Prince 
of  Beam,  and  Ilenr)-,  son  of  Prince  Louis  of  Conde,  both  sixteen 
years  old,  as  champions  of  religious  liberty  in  France.  Both  youths 
swore  to  persevere  in  the  common  cause  till  death  or  victory  had 
crowned  their  efforts,  and  immediately  the  Prince  of  Beam  was 
proclaimed  general-in-chief,  amid  the  applause  of  the  army,  under 
the  direction  of  Coligny.  The  combat  of  Roche- Abeille,  the  first 
where  Henry  of  Beam  distinguished  himself,  w'as  to  the  advantage 
of  the  Protestants.  Soon  the  two  armies  found  themselves  in 
presence  of  each  other  near  ]\Ioncontour  in  Poitou  (1570).  The 
Calvinists  occupied  a  bad  ])nsition.     Coligny  wished  to  change  it ; 


T  II  K     R  V:  V  O  U  M  A  I'  I  ()  N  1 57 

1570-1572 

the  soldiers  wished  to  fight.  'J'he  action  c iniinenccd.  The  carnage 
of  the  Prostcstants  was  fri.q-litful,  and,  in  half  an  honr.  of  twenty- 
five  thousand  men  only  h\-c  or  six  hundred  rallied  round  CohL;ny. 
The  admiral,  however,  aUhout^h  severely  wounded.  mana,<::ed  to 
conduct  the  remains  of  his  forces  and  the  Y(mng-  ])rinces  in  s.afeiv 
into  Lang'uedoc,  where  ?^Iontgomery  rejoined  them  with  his  troojx. 
The  Calvinists  reappeared  once  more  in  an  imp(~)sing  attitude,  and 
Coligny .conducted  them  towards  Paris  by  forced  marches.  On  hMili 
sides  the  need  for  rest  was  extreme,  and  ])eace  was  signed  at  Saint 
Germain,  in  1570.  where  the  court  was  then  being  held. 

Peace  called  back  into  h'rance  order  and  security;  the  people 
hoped  that  they  had  seen  the  end  of  so  many  evils.  Jeanne  d'Albret, 
the  young  princes,  and  Coligny  were  invited  to  the  court.  The 
king-  lavished  upon  them  the  most  ilattering-  words.  Tlie  marriage 
of  the  Prince  of  Beam  with  ^Margaret  of.X'dois,  sister  of  Charles. 
was  projected.  The  difference  of  religimi  j^resentcd  an  obstacle. 
but  the  king  himself  smoothed  away  .all  diniculties.  Jeanne  d'Albret 
died  in  the  midst  of  these  negotiations,  but  the  projected  marri.age 
was  carried  out  between  Margaret  and  young  lleiu-y,  who  im- 
mediately after  the  death  of  his  mother  had  taken  the  title  <■] 
King  of  Xavarre. 

But  while  the  flattery  and  attentions  of  the  court  party  were 
lulling  the  Protestants  into  a  false  security  the  (jueen-mother  and 
her  partisans  were  taking  slei)s  to  encompass  their  total  destruction 
throughout  the  kingdom,  d'lie  Admir.al  Coligny  was  wounded  dan- 
gerously by  a  shot  tired  from  an  ar(|ucl)use  by  McUirevel,  an  assassin 
in  the  pay  of  Catherine,  but  tlie  k'ing  axerted  sus[)icion  of  the  com- 
plicity of  the  court  by  \-isiting  the  wounded  man.  At  last  the  queen- 
mother  wrung  from  her  son  a  reluctant  consent  for  a  general  massa- 
cre of  the  Protestants,  whom  it  was  snuglit  {n  draw  together  to  the 
capital  in  the  greatest  numbers  ]-)ossil)le.  ddiey  catue  to  Paris  in 
crowds,  and  at  a  council  held  at  the  'fuileries  on  Augu>t  23.  157J. 
it  was  settled  that  the  execution  should  ctnumence  on  the  following 
day,  Saint  Bartholomew's  day.  Tavannes  gave  the  order,  in  the 
presence  of  the  king,  to  the  pro\-ost  of  the  tuerch.ants,  John  Charron, 
to  cause  the  companies  of  bnuregois  to  be  armed,  and  tc:>  unite  at 
midnight  at  the  J  lotel  <!c  \'ille.  and  to  throw  themselves  upon  the 
Calvinists  at  the  first  scnind  of  the  tocsin  l)ell.  'fhe  mufderer-^.  in 
order  to  recognize  e.'ich  other,  were  obliged  to  wear  a  scirf  on  the 
left  arm  and  a  white  cross  on  the  hat.     At  midnight.  August  _\i. 


158  FRANCE 

1572-1573 

1572,  the  signal  was  given  at  the  gloomy  sound  of  the  bell.  The 
town  was  filled  with  assassins,  and  first  of  all  a  band  of  soldiers, 
directed  by  Henry  of  Guise,  sought  out  the  house  of  Coligny.  The 
gates  were  opened  in  the  name  of  the  king,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
the  lifeless  body  of  the  admiral  was  hurled  from  the  window  into 
the  court.  Already  death  was  everywhere  in  Paris;  the  Huguenots 
left  their  houses,  half-naked,  at  the  sound  of  the  tocsin,  amid  cries 
of  their  murdered  brethren,  and  perished  by  hundreds.  Tavannes, 
the  Dukes  of  Angouleme  and  Anjou,  Henry  of  Guise  and  ]\Iont- 
pensier,  stirred  up  the  executioners  to  the  carnage,  while  the  bour- 
geoisie were  rivals  in  ferocity  with  the  greatest  seigniors.  The  king 
himself  fired  from  a  window  in  the  Louvre  on  the  fugitives.  The 
massacre  lasted  three  days  in  Paris,  where  five  thousand  persons 
lost  their  lives.  On  the  third  day  Charles  summoned  the  Parlement ; 
he  dared  to  justify  his  conduct,  and  the  president,  Christopher  de 
Thou,  had  the  shameless  weakness  to  approve  of  it.  Royal  orders 
were  hurried  into  all  the  provinces  commanding  similar  massacres. 
Meaux,  Angers,  Bourges,  Orleans,  Lyon,  Toulouse,  and  Rouen 
became  the  theaters  of  horrible  scenes.  The  young  King  of  Navarre 
and  Henry  of  Conde  ran  the  risk  of  their  lives  during  the  massacre; 
Charles  made  them  come  into  his  presence  and  said  to  them,  in  a 
terrible  voice,  *'  The  mass  or  death !  "  Yielding  to  necessity,  the 
two  princes  apparently  recanted  and  remained  prisoners. 

This  savage  massacre  was  promptly  followed  by  a  most  terrible 
civil  war.  A  great  number  of  Catholics  embraced  the  reformed 
religion  on  account  of  the  horror  inspired  in  them  by  Saint  Bartholo- 
mew. The  thirst  for  vengence,  carried  to  rage,  doubled  the  forces 
of  the  Protestants.  La  Rochelle  was  the  principal  stronghold  of 
the  Protestants.  Charles  felt  the  necessity  of  taking  it.  The  defense 
was  heroic;  it  lasted  six  months,  and  cost  immense  sums  and 
twenty  thousand  men  to  the  Catholics.  Sancerre  also  sustained 
a  memorable  siege.  Moiitauban,  Nismes,  and  other  towns  were 
in  the  power  of  the  Protestants.  A  fourth  peace  was  signed  in  1572. 
It  granted  to  the  reformers  in  these  places  the  majority  of  the  ad- 
vantages guaranteed  by  the  preceding  treaties. 

From  this  time  till  the  death  of  the  king  few  events  of  im- 
portance occurred.  The  Duke  of  Anjou  was  chosen  King  of  Poland 
in  1572  and  quitted  France.  The  Prince  of  Conde  escaped  from 
captivity  in  the  following  year,  but  the  King  of  Navarre  was  still 
held  in  durance  at  court.   After  the  massacre  of  Saint  Bartholtjmew 


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T  II  i:     R  !•:  FORM  A  T  I  ()  N  1 50 

1573-1576 

Charles  IX.  seemed  to  pine  away,  overwlielined  at  intervals  by  fits 
of  delirium  and  nnavailin^-  ret^rets  for  the  crimes  which  he  had 
sanctioned.  He  died  on  May  30,  1574,  when  only  twenty-four 
years  of  a.q'e. 

The  Duke  of  Anjou  succeeded  his  brother  under  the  name  of 
Henry  HI.  He  was  in  Poland  when  Charles  IX.  died,  and  Cath- 
erine de'  ^Medici  assumed  tlic  rc.q-cncy  until  his  return.  One  of  the 
first  acts  of  her  authority  was  to  order  the  execution  of  Monl- 
g-omery.  made  prisoner  at  l^om front,  tlie  accidental  nuu-dercr  of 
Henry  II.,  and  one  of  the  most  illustrious  of  the  Protestant  chiefs. 
His  execution  provoked  fresh  acts  of  ven,<;-eance  on  the  part  of  the 
Protestants.  A  new  war  was  announced.  The  I^rotestants  saw 
with  horror  one  of  the  principal  authors  of  Saint  r>artholome\v 
upon  the  throne;  one  who  had  si.q-nalized  himself  the  most  on  those 
execrable  days.  Conde  assembled  his  forces  and  negotiated  with 
the  Elector  Palatine,  in  order  to  o1)tain  considerable  s.u])port.  Sud- 
denly the  Duke  of  Alencon,  brother  of  the  king,  whom  th.e  queen- 
mother  had  long  suspected  of  a  tendency  to  favor  the  Huguenots, 
escaped  from  the  court,  tliough  closely  guarded,  joined  the  C(M1- 
federates,  and  reappeared  before  the  gates  of  Paris.  Soon  after. 
the  King  of  Xavarrc  contrived  to  (|uit  Paris,  joined  tlie  princes, 
and  abjured  CatlK:»licism  in  their  camp,  where  he  fcnmd  Prince 
Casimir,  of  the  Palatinate,  at  tlie  licad  of  a  numerous  corps.  Henry 
III.  had  already  signed  a  truce  with  the  confederates;  he  engaged 
to  deliver  to  them  six  towns,  and  to  ])ay  the  garrison  maintained 
luider  the  Duke  of  Alencon  and  the  Jh-ince  of  Conde.  The  new 
king  gave  himself  up  wholly  to  unrestrained  debauchery  and  the 
punctilious  practices  of  a  puerile  dcNotion.  The  queen-mother,  in- 
deed, seemed  to  be  the  only  one  in  the  court  ])arty  who  was  capable 
of  action.  Going  to  the  camp  of  the  confederates,  she  induced 
the  Duke  of  Alenqon  to  return  to  court  by  tripling  his  aj)panage 
and  giving  him  the  title  of  Duke  of  Anjou.  The  suljmission 
of  this  prince  led  the  reformers,  in  1576,  to  accept  peace,  which 
borrowed  from  him  its  name,  and  was  called  the  Peace  of  Alon- 
sieur. 

The  shameful  conduct  of  the  king  rendered  him  an  object 
of  contempt  even  in  the  eyes  of  his  own  friends.  F.  >r  a  long  time 
there  had  been  formed  among  the  princes  particular  leagues  for 
the  defense  of  the  Catholic  religion;  soon  they  joined  together 
and  formed  themsehxs  int(j  one   fur  the  maintenance  of  Catholi- 


160  FRANCE 

1576-1580 

cism  and  the  destruction  of  Protestants,  but  whose  real  aim  was 
the  deposition  of  the  unworthy  Henry  III.,  the  descendant  of 
Hugh  Capet,  and  the  transmission  of  the  crown  to  Henry  of 
Guise,  surnamed  the  Balafre  (on  account  of  having  a  scar  on  his 
face),  son  of  the  great  Francis  of  Guise,  who  was  said  to  be  de- 
scended from  Charlemagne.  Pope  Gregory  XHI.  encouraged  the 
members  of  the  league,  or  Holy  Union,  as  it  was  also  called,  and 
Philip  n,  promised  to  support  them  both  w^ith  men  and  money. 

This  league  had  already  become  popular  when  Henry  came 
to  know  of  it  and  understand  the  aim  of  the  association.  He  as- 
sembled, in  1576,  the  Estates-General  at  Blois,  and  sought  to  baffle 
the  designs  of  Henry  of  Guise  and  his  partisans  by  declaring  him- 
self the  chief  of  the  Holy  Union.  They  drew  up  a  formulary, 
the  monarch  swore  to  it,  caused  it  to  be  accepted  by  the  Estates, 
and  ordered  that  it  be  signed  in  Paris  and  in  the  whole  of  France. 
The  three  orders  of  the  Estates  concurred  in  demanding  that  the 
Roman  Catholic  religion  should  be  the  only  one  tolerated  in  France, 
but  the  Third  Estate  deprecated  the  employment  of  violence  against 
the  Protestants.  The  nobles  and  clergy  refused  to  concur  in  this, 
and  the  king,  assuming  that  the  Estates  thereby  sanctioned  war, 
revoked  the  Edict  of  Pacification  after  the  dissolution  of  the 
Estates,  and  in  1577  took  up  arms.  A  brief  campaign  in  this  year, 
in  which  two  Catholic  armies,  commanded,  one  by  the  Duke  of 
Anjou  and  the  other  by  the  Duke  of  Mayenne,  the  brother  of  the 
Duke  of  Guise,  succeeded  in  taking  many  places  from  the  con- 
federates, was  followed,  in  1577,  by  the  celebrated  Peace  of  Ber- 
gerac,  by  which  Henry  HI.  granted  to  the  Protestants  the  public 
exercise  of  their  religion  in  each  chief  place  of  the  bailiwick  and 
in  each  royal  jurisdiction  outside  Paris,  and  reestablished  them  in 
their  citizens'  privileges,  with  right  to  offices  and  dignities.  The 
king  permitted  besides,  on  certain  conditions,  the  marriage  of 
priests,  repudiated  Saint  Bartholomew,  and  proscribed  the  league. 

The  Peace  of  Bergerac,  soon  confirmed  by  the  Treaty  of  Nerac. 
would  have  pacified  the  kingdom  if  the  king  had  watched  over  its 
execution,  but,  freed  from  the  cares  of  war,  he  plunged  again  into 
his  shameful  pleasures.  Soon,  upon  frivolous  pretexts,  war  re- 
kindled in  all  parts.  The  love  intrigues  which,  in  part,  occas- 
ioned it,  caused  it  to  be  named  the  "  War  of  the  Lovers."  Henry 
HI.  had  written  to  the  King  of  Navarre,  with  the  intention  of  im- 
broiling  him  with  his  wife  Margaret.     He  did  not  succeed,  and  the 


T  II  E     R  E  F  0  R  M  A  T  I  ()  \  Ifil 

1580-1585 

Kiiij.^  of  Xavarrc  answered  liim  by  the  lieroic  takin.Lj^  <.f  Callers. 
Conde  soon  sinewed  Iiim>elf  in  anus  in  Ean.<;ued(»c.  ready  to  sus- 
tain him.  An  adwintaLieons  peace  for  tlie  reformers  was  signed 
in  1580,  at  Ideix,  tlirouqli  tlie  inter\enlion  of  tlie  Duke  of  Anj^u, 
whose  aid  the  Ideminj^rs  had  implored  in  their  struggie  for  hberty 
with  Philip  II.  of  Spain,  aaid  whom,  in  return  for  tlic  su]iport 
promised  l)y  Henry  III.  and  th.e  a(h>  anta.e^es  likely  to  accrue  to  them 
from  his  contemplated  marriage  with  (lucen  hdixal)eth  of  Knr^iand. 
they  had  proclaimed  Count  of  hdanders  and  Duke  of  P.rahant. 
Profiting-  by  the  Peace  of  Ideix,  and  furnished  with  the  consent 
of  the  king-,  the  duke  recruited  an  army  among  the  I-'rench  re- 
formers. With  it  he  freed  Cambrai  and  took  1-xhise.  but  having 
exercised  in  Flanders  a  despotic  power,  and  caused  the  inhabitants 
of  Antwerp  to  be  massacred  by  his  troops,  he  was  driven  out  of 
the  country  by  those  who  had  called  him  into  it,  and  died  in  re- 
tirement in  1584. 

The  King  of  Xavarre,  chief  of  the  House  of  Bourbon,  became 
by  the  death  of  the  l^uke  of  Anjou,  the  nearest  heir  to  the  throne, 
but  in  the  eyes  of  the  ])eople  his  religion  rendered  him  inca])al)le 
of  holdin«^  it.  This  circumstance  reanimated  the  boldness  and 
efforts  of  the  league,  but  the  zealous  Catholics  turned  their  regards 
towards  the  old  cardinal,  Charles  of  Ik)urbon.  uncle  of  the  King 
of  Navarre,  depending  up(^n  his  name,  until  they  cc^uld  throw 
away  the  m.ask  and  declare  openly  for  the  l^uke  of  Cuise.  The 
latter  placed  himself  again  boldly  at  the  head  of  the  leaguers.  He 
hesitated,  howe\er,  to  take  arms  until  he  was  encouraged  to  do  so 
by  Philip  II.,  who  incited  him  to  action  by  promises  and  threats. 
The  leaguers  made  the  ])reachers  thunder  forth  from  the  pulpit 
against  the  heresy  of  Henry  of  Xavarre,  and  the  people,  rendered 
furious,  demanded  \var  and  the  extermination  of  the  Calvinists. 
In  1585  Pope  Sixtus  V.  fulminated  a  bull  of  excommunication 
against  the  King  of  X'avarre.  and  declared  him  unable  to  succeed 
to  the  throne.  Terrihed  at  this  popular  effervescence,  Henry  III. 
had  the  weakness,  by  the  Treaty  of  Xemours.  to  admit  the  jM-eten- 
sions  of  Henry  of  (niise.  He  forbade,  under  pain  of  death,  the 
exercise  of  all  religions  excei)t  the  Rtnuan,  throughout  the  king- 
dom; delivered  the  i)laces  of  safety  to  the  duke,  and  paid  l;is 
foreign  troops.  .Vlmost  immediately  the  Calvinists  took  up  a.rms. 
and  this  eighth  war  was  called  the  War  of  the  ddu'ee  Henries. 

Henry  of  Xavarre,  in  order  to  sa\e  the  blood  t)f  the  people. 


162  FRANC  E 

1585-1588 

vainly  proposed  to  his  enemies  in  tlie  assembly  of  the  Estates  a 
council  or  a  dnel,  astonished  them  by  his  adroit  maneuvers,  and 
caused  his  authority  to  be  recognized  in  many  provinces  of  the 
south.  But  Conde  was  less  skillful  and  less  hap])y,  and  his  army 
was  dispersed  without  having-  fought.  The  brilliant  Duke  of 
Joyeuse,  favorite  of  Henry  III.,  commanding  the  Catholic  army, 
met  the  Calvinistic  troops  of  Henry  of  Bourbon  near  Courtras,  in 
Perigord.  A  battle  took  place,  and  the  whole  of  the  army  of 
Joyeuse  was  destroyed ;  he  himself  perished  fighting.  But  Henry 
did  not  know  how  to  profit  by  his  triumph ;  he  forgot  himself  in 
effeminacy,  and  in  a  short  time  his  army  was  dispersed  through 
want  of  pay.  The  Prince  of  Conde  survived  this  victory  only  a 
short  time ;  he  died,  it  was  said,  by  poison. 

Elizabeth,  the  Protestant  Queen  of  England,  then  tarnished 
her  glory  in  1587  by  ordering  the  execution  of  Mary  Stuart,  widow, 
by  her  first  marriage,  of  Erancis  II.,  and  Catholic  Queen  of  Scot- 
land, who,  flying  from  her  revolted  subjects  nineteen  years  pre- 
viously, sought  a  refuge  in  the  states  of  her  rival.  The  tragical 
death  of  this  queen,  sister-in-law  of  the  King  of  Erance,  contrib- 
uted as  much  as  the  defeat  of  Courtras  to  increase  the  fanatical 
zeal  of  the  leaguers  and  their  contempt  for  Henry  HL  PTenry 
of  Guise,  however,  as  prudent  as  he  was  brave  and  ambitious, 
always  skillful  in  watching  his  advantage,  increased  in  public  favor, 
and  the  boldness  of  the  league  v/as  doubled.  The  leaders  of  the 
bourgeoisie  of  Paris  declared  in  his  favor,  and  summoned  him  to 
the  capital,  which  he  entered,  in  1588,  in  opposition  to  the  express 
orders  of  the  king  that  he  should  not  approach  Paris,  and  amid  the 
acclamations  of  the  multitude,  his  feeble  escort  surrounded  by 
an  idolatrous  crowd  eager  to  see  him  and  to  touch  his  person  or 
his  dress.  At  an  interview  wdth  the  king  he  requested  that  war 
to  the  death  should  be  made  against  the  Huguenots  and  that  the 
king's  favorites  and  all  suspected  people  should  be  driven  from 
the  court.  The  fec1)le  monarch  yielded,  but  on  condition  that 
the  duke  would  assist  in  purging  Paris  of  foreigners  and  peo- 
ple without  occupation.  Guise  promised  it,  and  the  people  mur- 
mured loudly.  The  king  ordered  the  nobles  to  place  themselves 
in  arms  round  him  and  sent  for  four  thousand  Swiss  to  come  to 
Paris.  The  sight  of  them  rendered  the  people  furious,  and  excited 
a  general  uprising;  the  streets  in  all  directions  were  rendered  im- 
passable by  chains  and  barricades,  and  the  royal  troops  saw  them- 


THi:     RKFOKMATIOX  Ifi;? 

1588 

selves  invested  ai^.d  attacked  on  all  sides  withont  hope  of  retreat 
or  safety.  Idie  Duke  of  Guise,  however,  calmed  the  peoi)le  and 
induced  them  to  permit  the  unfortunate  Swiss  to  withdraw.  Later 
in  the  day,  when  the  f|ueen-ninther  hastened  to  nei^dtiate  with  him, 
he  asked  that  tlie  llourbons  should  he  deprived  of  their  jirivile^vs, 
for  places  of  safety,  for  money  and  for  war.  Tn  the  midst  of  the 
interview  the  duke  learned  tliat  the  kin.q-  had  lied  from  Paris. 
Taking  advantage  of  tlie  tunnilt,  Henry  IIT.  had  left  the  capital 
at  a  gallop,  and  did  not  believe  himself  in  sat"ety  till  he  was  at 
Chartres,  wdien  he  was  rejoined  bv  his  troops  and  court.  Tliis 
famous  day,  when  the  people  delivered  Paris  to  the  Duke  of  Guise, 
was  called  in  history  the  liattle  of  the  Barricades. 

Guise  set  to  work  to  gain  profit  out  of  his  \  ictory  by  exercis- 
ing the  functions  of  the  king  before  taking  the  title,  but  lindiiig 
himself  unable  to  induce  the  P:irlement  (»f  l\aris  to  sanction  the 
measures  he  proposed,  he  souglit  by  the  advice  of  the  queen-mother 
to  appease  the  king's  anger.  Xcgotiations  were  accordingly  opened 
at  Chartres.  Henry  consented  to  meet  with  the  Duke  of  Guise; 
the  famous  lulict  of  Union  ajjpeared,  in  158S,  and  the  king  seemed 
to  be  delixered  over  to  his  enemy.  He  engaged  by  this  edict  to 
destroy  the  heretics  even  to  the  last  man;  he  disinherited  J  lenry 
of  Bourbon  from  the  throne,  named  Guise  generalissimo,  with 
absolute  power,  and  gave  ()\"er  to  him,  for  ni;my  \-ears.  several 
places  of  safety.  These  ciuiccssiiMis,  h(nve\"er,  were  onl}-  mailc  tlie 
better  to  conceal  the  designs  of  the  king.  He  had  already  taken, 
without  consulting  his  m<ither,  an  extreme  resolution,  and  to  ac- 
complish it  the  I'^states-Gcneral  were  convoked  again  at  Iilois. 
Henry  of  Guise  and  the  cardinal,  his  brother,  f)resentcd  themsebes 
there  boldly.  The  deputies  were  numerous;  the  election  had  been 
made  under  the  inllucnce  of  the  Guises,  and  the  greater  part  of  tlie 
deputies  belonged  to  tlie  league.  The  king  opened  the  Estates 
on  October  16,  1588.  in  the  great  salon  of  the  chateau  of 
Blois.  He  protested,  in  a  very  remark.able  discourse,  his  ardent 
desire  to  root  out  heresy  and  remedy  the  evils  of  the  country,  and. 
while  deploring  the  necessity  that  there  was  for  asking  subsidies 
from  the  restates,  he  threw  the  I'ault  u])on  those  who  had  wished 
to  use  violence  towards  himself,  and  wIk^  stirred  up  troubles  in 
th.e  state  by  means  of  leagues  and  illegal  associations,  pointing  out 
clearly  the  Duke  of  Guise,  u])on  whom  e\ery  eye  was  turned..  Afiei" 
the   meeting,    however,    the    Duke    of    Guise   com[)elled    IIenr\-    to 


164  FRANCE 

1588-1589 

promise  to  cut  out  from  his  harangue,  in  pubHshing  it,  tlic  pas- 
sages where  he  and  his  followers  were  designated  as  factious.  His 
project,  which  he  httle  disguised,  was  to  depose  the  feeble  monarch 
and  to  cause  himself  to  be  proclaimed  in  his  place.  The  king,  al- 
though he  had  taken  the  sacrament  with  the  duke  at  Blois,  resolved 
to  destroy  him  as  speedily  as  possible,  and  bribed  Loignac,  chief 
of  the  gentlemen  of  the  guard,  to  undertake  his  assassination. 

The  hour  and  place  were  fixed.  But  rumors  were  circulated, 
the  partisans  of  Guise  were  alarmed,  and  threatening  notices  came 
to  him  from  all  parts.  When  warned  of  the  designs  of  the 
king,  he  is  reported  to  have  exclaimed,  "He  does  not!"  On  De- 
cember 23  he  presented  himself  to  the  council ;  the  doors  were 
closed,  and  an  officer  notified  him  that  he  was  required  at  the 
house  of  the  king.  He  directed  his  steps  towards  the  cabinet  of 
the  monarch ;  just  as  he  entered,  Montlhery,  one  of  the  gentle- 
men of  the  guard,  plunging  a  dagger  into  his  breast,  cried, 
"  Traitor,  3''ou  shall  die !  "  Others  threw  themselves  upon  him 
and  struck  him,  while  Loingnac  thrust  his  sword  into  his  back. 
The  Cardinal  of  Guise,  who,  seated  at  the  council  heard  his  dying 
brother's  cries  of  mercy  to  God,  was  immediately  arrested  and 
sent  to  the  tower  of  Moulins,  wdiere  he  perished  the  following  day 
by  assassination  with  all  the  relatives  and  friends  of  himself  and 
his  brother  that  happened  to  be  in  Blois  and  were  unable  to  make 
their  escape.  The  queen-mother  only  survived  the  Lorraine  princes 
a  few  days.  Before  her  death  she  had  advised  Henry  to  march 
at  once  upon  Paris,  where  the  storm  was  brewing,  and  swear  anew 
in  the  Estates,  to  the  Edict  of  Union,  before  dissolving  them.  This 
however,  he  did  not  do.  He  had,  moreover,  allowed  many  pris- 
oners of  high  importance  to  escape  him  at  Blois.  His  two  most 
formidable  enemies,  the  Duke  of  Alayenne  and  Aumale,  brothers 
of  the  assassinated  Guises,  remained  at  large,  although  closely 
pursued,  and  they  hastened  to  raise  the  people  and  the  army. 

The  rage  of  the  Parisians  had  no  need  for  being  excited.  The 
news  of  the  gloomy  events  of  Blois  provoked  the  explosion  of 
their  hate  and  fury.  They  proclaimed  the  Duke  of  Mayenne  lieu- 
tenant-general of  the  kingdom ;  the  enthusiastic  Bussy  Le  Clerc. 
governor  of  the  Bastile,  enclosed  in  it  the  majority  of  the  members 
of  the  Parlcment,  who  were  inimical  to  these  proceedings,  and  a 
new  Parlemcnt  was  instituted,  h'rom  that  time  all  ho|)es  of  con- 
ciliation with  the  partisans  of  the  Guises  faded  away  before  Henry 


T  IT  E     R  E  1'  ()  R  :\r  A  T  TON  1  fir, 

1589 

III.  IV-)pe  Sixtiis  V.  redoubled  the  audacity  of  the  enemies  (if  the 
iiumarch  by  exn  inimunicatinL;  bitii  for  the  murder  of  the  eardinal. 
In  danj^'-er  of  bcini;-  invested  bv  Maycnne  in  the  town  of  'I'ours. 
one  resource  only  remained  to  Henry,  and  he  seized  it  by  joining- 
himself  with  the  Kiui;-  of  Xavarre,  whom  he  had  just  (bsinherited. 
The  frankness  and  loyaltv  of  llenrv  of  Xavarre  soon  chained 
the  confidence  of  blenry  Til.,  and  touched  his  lieart.  After  a  i^lo- 
rious  success  at  La  Xoue,  in  Senlis.  they  marched  to,^-ether  upon 
Paris.  Bourbon  pitched  his  camp  at  Meudon  and  Henry  arran.f^ed 
his  upon  the  heights  of  Saint  Cloud,  where  he  was  mortally 
wounded  on  August  i,  158(),  bv  a  fanatic  named  Jacques  Clement, 
wdio  had  made  a  vow  to  assassinate  him.  The  murderer  was  im- 
mediately killed  l)y  the  king's  guards. 

Henry  of  X^a\'arre,  when  informed  of  the  event,  hurried  from 
his  quarters  at  Meudon  to  see  the  king,  who  had  not  many  hours 
to  live.  Henry  received  absolution,  and  having  exhorted  his  of- 
ficers to  recognize  as  his  successor  the  King  of  Xaxarre,  the  legi- 
timate heir  to  the  throne,  without  regard  to  the  difference  of  reli- 
gion, then  he  expired,  in  his  thirty-eighth  year,  after  reigning 
fifteen  years.  With  the  new  king.  Henry  IV'..  the  branch  of  the 
Bourbons  mounted  the  throne ;  that  of  the  Valois  had  reigned  two 
hundred  and  sixty-one  years,  and  died  out  after  having  given 
thirteen  kings  to  France. 


Chapter    X 

HENRY  IV.  AND  THE   REORGANIZATION   OF   FRANCE 

1589-1624 

HENRY  IV.  had  been  brought  np  by  his  pions  and  noble 
mother,  Jeanne  d'Albret,  in  the  fear  of  God  and  in  the 
principles  of  virtue.  Tried  early  by  adversity,  he  knew 
how  to  support  it  with  courage  and  to  conquer  it.  No  prince  had 
found  himself  in  a  more  difficult  position  than  was  his  after  the 
death  of  Henry  of  Valois,  having  before  him  the  league,  the 
anathemas  of  the  Pope,  and  the  gold  of  Philip  II.  His  prede- 
cessor had  scarcely  breathed  his  last  when  he  was  exposed  to  a 
trial.  The  Catholic  chiefs  held  council,  and  declared  to  the  king 
that  if  he  wished  to  reign  in  France  he  must  at  once  abjure  the 
Protestant  faith,  which  he  refused  to  do.  Upon  this,  eight  hun- 
dred gentlemen-at-arms  and  nine  regiments  left  his  banners.  A 
small  number  of  devoted  friends,  with  the  Swiss,  and  some  com- 
panies of  cavalry,  formed  the  permanent  foundation  of  his 
forces.  His  followers  came  one  by  one  to  arrange  themselves 
under  his  banner,  and,  in  default  of  pay,  they  returned  to  their 
(jwn  homes,  to  remain  for  some  months.  It  was  necessary,  too,  to 
go  from  town  to  town,  struggling  and  negotiating  without  inter- 
mission. 

Fanaticism  and  delirium  were  carried  to  their  height  in  Paris 
with  the  news  that  Henry  III.  was  assassinated.  The  Parisians 
grossly  insulted  the  memory  of  Henry  III.,  and  in  their  frantic 
joy  at  the  king's  death  they  declared  his  murderer  to  be  a  martyr. 
'Hiey  also  spread  abroad  furious  invectives  against  Henry  of 
Bourbon,  recalling  the  Edict  of  Union,  the  bull  of  the  Pope,  and 
the  decrees  of  the  Sorbonne,  which  declared  him  deprived  of  the 
throne.  They  sought  a  chief,  and  their  regards  turned  towards 
Mayenne,  brother  of  Henry  of  Guise,  and  alone  in  his  family 
capable  of  directing  affairs.  Mayenne  took  the  title  of  lieutenant- 
general  of  the  kingdom,  and  caused  to  be  proclaimed  king,  under 
the   name  of  Charles   X.,   the   old   Cardinal   of   Bourbon,   whom 

I6ti 


HKNUV     TV  IGT 

1589-1590 

Henry  TV.,  lii.s  ncplicw.  held  a  prismicr  at  Tours.  ITc  went  out 
from  Paris  afterwards  at  tiie  Iiead  of  tweiuy-fue  tliousand  nuMi. 
and  met,  near  I")ie|)])e.  tlic  feeble  army  of  the  k'uvj;.  eompo-ed  altM- 
gether  of  seven  tliousand  soldiers.  Henry,  liowexer.  \V(mi  a  signal 
advantage  in  a  bloody  eoml)at  which  took  ])lace  near  the  villa.i^e 
of  Arqiies.  Soon  after  he  appeared  before  I'aris.  and  attacked 
and  plundered  tlie  suburljs.  (h-iving  back  the  ]\arisians  into  the 
interior  of  the  town.  In  vain  lie  offered  l)attle  to  the  Duke  of 
]\Iayenne.  He  tlien  quitted  I'aris  in  order  to  subdue  lower  Nor- 
mandy, of  which  he  made  himself  master. 

Discord  reigned  in  France;  some  wislied  to  crown  ^^ayennc: 
others  declared  themselves  for  the  old  Cardinal  of  Bourbon,  while 
another  faction  supj)orted  the  King  of  S])ain,  who  claimed  the 
throne  for  his  daughter,  Isabella,  the  niece  of  the  late  four  kings 
by  her  mother,  Elizabeth.  'Hie  Sorbonne  declared  that  Heiuw 
was  in  a  state  of  mortal  sin.  and  excommunicated  all  those  who 
should  think  of  adopting  him  as  king,  even  if  he  became  a  Cath- 
olic. The  Parlement  of  I'aris  ordered  tlie  recognition  of  Charles 
X. ;  the  parlement  sitting  at  Tours  annulled  the  decrees  of  that 
of  Paris,  and  proclaimed  Henry  IV.  king. 

Henry  IV.  again  approached  the  capital,  and  Mayenne  barred 
the  way.  The  two  armies  met  near  Dreux,  in  the  i)laiu  of  I\-ry, 
in  1590.  On  the  moi'row.  at  break  of  day.  arrangements  were 
made  for  the  battle.  Hciu'y  ordered  the  charge,  and  the  army  of 
Alayenne,  although  \ery  superior  in  numl)ers,  was  almost  de- 
stroyed. The  conquerer  immediately  march.ed  u\)on  Paris,  anil 
caused  the  town  to  be  blockaded  by  his  trooj)s.  The  old  Cardinal 
of  Bourbon,  rival  and  prismier  of  Henry  I\'..  died  at  this  time. 

The  blockade  of  the  cajiital  brought  famine  and  mortality 
into  its  walls,  and  caused  terril)le  distress  among  the  people.  At 
length,  by  order  of  Phili])  H.,  Alexander  h^u'uese,  l^uke  of  I'arma, 
celebrated  bv  his  exploits  in  bd.anders,  and  bv  the  taking  of  Ant- 
werp, advanced  upon  Paris,  with  Mayenne,  and  ])enetrated  as  far 
as  Aleaux.  lie  compelled  the  king  to  raise  the  blockade,  forced 
his  lines  at  Lagnv,  and  revictualled  the  capital.  Incapal)le  of  coiu- 
ing  to  an  understanding  with  the  leaders  of  the  bourgeoisie,  and 
docile  to  the  injunctions  ot'  King  I^hilip,  I'arnese  retreated  an^l 
returned  into  j\rtois,  harassed  in  his  retreat  by  the  royal  army. 

tienry  returned  to  establish  his  (juarters  at  Saint  Denis,  and 
attempted  tu  surprise  Paris  by  means  of  soldiers  concealed  under 


168  FRAN  C  E 

1590-1593 

sacks  of  flour.  This  abortive  attempt  and  the  stratagem  to  which 
the  king  had  recourse  gave  to  this  engagement  the  name  of  the 
Fkjur  Battle.  Discord  reigned  in  Paiis ;  Mayenne  agitated  on  one 
side  for  his  house ;  on  the  other  a  considerable  faction  agitated  for 
Philip  II.,  who  paid  them  to  advocate  the  claim  of  his  daughter, 
who  was  excluded  by  the  Salic  Law  from  the  succession.  A  new 
chief  divided  the  members  of  the  league :  the  young  Duke  of  Guise, 
son  of  the  Balafre,  recently  escaped  from  prison,  was  received 
wdth  transports  in  Paris,  and  many  opposed  him  to  Mayenne. 
Nevertheless,  he  played  no  important  part.  The  new  Pope,  Greg- 
ory XIV.,  eager  to  sustain  the  league,  sent  him  a  reinforcement 
of  soldiers,  who  only  signalized  themselves  by  the  most  horrible 
brigandage. 

The  war  continued  with  ferocity,  and  the  Duke  of  Parma 
reentered  France  by  skillful  marches.  Henry  rashly  exposed  him- 
self in  the  1)attle  of  Aumale  (1592),  wdiere  he  was  w^ounded. 
Farnese  nearl}^  took  him  prisoner,  and  compelled  him  to  raise  the 
siege  of  Rouen.  Although  very  inferior  in  forces.  Flenry  sus- 
tained the  war  with  advantage,  displaying  a  marvellous  activity 
and  the  resources  of  a  fertile  and  indefatigable  genius,  escaping 
from  the  enemy  when  the  latter  thought  they  w-ere  about  to  seize 
him,  and  falling  upon  them  unexpectedly,  when  they  thought  that 
he  was  far  off.  It  was  thus  that,  by  a  course  of  prudent  and  bold 
maneuvers,  he  shut  up  Farnese  near  Dieppe,  between  the  sea,  the 
Seine,  and  the  three  main  bodies  of  his  army,  but  the  Duke  of 
Parma,  unknown  to  the  king,  constructed  a  pontoon  bridge  in  one 
night,  deceived  his  vigilance,  crossed  the  Seine,  and  covered  his 
retreat. 

Henry  again  approached  Paris,  when  the  Estates-General  of 
the  league,  convoked  by  Mayenne,  at  the  request  of  Philip  II., 
assembled  together  to  elect  a  king.  He  caused  himself  to  be  well- 
informed  in  the  Catholic  religion ;  and  Mayenne,  in  the  midst  of 
the  factions  which  divided  the  states,  remained  undecided  between 
the  two  principals,  of  which  the  one  consented  to  proclaim  Henry 
IV.  if  he  abjured,  while  the  other  was  devoted  to  Spain.  At  this 
juncture  the  king  received  unexpected  support  from  the  Parle- 
ment  of  Paris,  the  members  of  which  were  tired  of  the  intimida- 
tion exercised  by  the  leaders  of  the  Spanish  party.  Upon  the 
advice  of  Edward  Mole,  attorney-general,  it  ordered  the  president, 
John   Lemaitre,   to   present   himself   to   the   lieutenant-general,    in 


IIEXrvY      IV  IG!) 

1593-1594 

order  t(.^  rcc'^nimcnd  hiin  to  sec  t"  it  that  no  !nrci,L;-ii  liousc  under 
the  pretext  of  rel;,L;i.)n  sh^'nld  ])]:u\-  itself  on  llie  thrnne.  decl:irinc; 
all  the  treaties  made  with  iliis  aim  nnll  and  contrary  to  the  Salic 
Law  and  tlie  constitnlion  <>(  the  kin.:^di»m.  ddiis  nnexpe.'ted  <leclar- 
ation  surprised  and  irritated  Mayenne,  but  John  Lemaitre  sus- 
tained tliis  decree  hef'Te  him  with  ci)urai;-e.  ddie  matter  was 
decided  finally  by  the  adnption  of  the  Catholic  faith  hy  the  kin^-.who 
proposed  a  truce,  at  the  same  time  hxin^-  July  J3  as  the  dav  on 
which  the  ceremony  of  his  abjuration  of  Ih-olestanism  should  take 
place. 

Mayenne,  who  saw  the  designs  which  he  had  entertained 
on  the  crown  frustrated  by  this  stej).  forbade  the  Parisians  to  be 
witnesses,  and  ordered  them  to  ckisc  their  doors.  Tliev  \iolaled 
his  (Trder  and  assisted  in  a  crowd  at  tlie  ceremony.  Jiem-v  made 
his  abjurati(»n  at  St.  Denis,  under  the  hands  n\  i!ic  .\rcl;bisho]) 
of  Bourges,  July  25,  15^)3.  lie  proiuiscd  to  live  and  U)  die  in  the 
heart  of  the  Roman  Catliolic  Church,  and  to  defend  it  ac^'ainst  all. 
He  repeated  his  profession  of  faith  at  the  foot  of  the  great  altar. 
then  the  "TV  Dciiui"  burst  (»ut.  wliile  the  j)eo])le  interruiued  with 
cries  of  "  I'ii'C  Ic  roi!  "  }v!avenne,  howe\er,  held  Paris  until  the  fol- 
lowing year,  and  it  was  not  until  Marcli  22.  after  Maycime  I'ad 
quitted  the  ca])ilal  lo  raise  new  troojts  on  the  trontiers  oi  Chain- 
])agne  for  th.e  prolongation  of  tlie  wai".  tliat  the  gates  of  the  city 
were  th.rown  oj)en  to  iiem'v.  Tlie  Parisians  rei-ei\-ed  him  eiuhu- 
siasticallv,  the  factions  (U"  Mavenne  and  .^pain  holding  back  throngii 
sm'])rise  and  fear.  I  lis  mru'ch  was  a  triumph,  and  froni  thai  day 
lie  looked  upfjii  himself  among  tlie  I'arisians  as  in  the  miilst  of 
his  children.  The  Sjianisli  garrison  left  Paris  im  the  same  day 
with  the  honors  of  war.  ^''hc  k'ing  recei\-ed  the  Pastile  on  terms 
of  war,  welcomed  tlie  repenta!it  :\n(\  submissive  S(M"bonne.  and 
united  to  the  Parlement  of  J';iris  the  magistrates  of  tlie  parle- 
ments  which  he  had  established  at  Chalons  and  Tours. 

As  to  the  situation  of  the  king  between  the  Catholics  and  Pro- 
testants, the  former  had  sveii  lu'^  con\er-ion  with  distrust,  raid 
accused  him  of  h\poi-ris\-.  I  le  conid  only  gain  them  ox'cr  by  la\i  -!i- 
ing  on  them  numerous  fa.\-oi-s.  The  latter,  irritated  at  his  abjura- 
tion, looked  witli  impa'.irnce  on  the  honors  and  brihcs  lieaped 
upon  tlie  Catlioilics.  and  accused  tiie  k-ing  of  iiigraiitude.  AhhoHMli 
Paris  had  submitted,  war  cotitinued  in  all  pails  of  the  kingdom. 
Plowever,  .Amiens,    !'>eau\ais.   ("ambrai.   and  Clialeau-dTierry  ga\e 


170  F  R  A  N  C  E 

1594-1596 

themselves  up  separately  after  the  taking  of  Laon.  Soon,  Mont- 
morency, Epernon,  the  Duke  of  Guise,  La  Chatre,  and  Bois- 
Dauphin  submitted,  but  they  fixed  their  submission  at  an  enor- 
mous price.  It  was  necessary  that  the  king  should  deposit  in  their 
hands  immense  sums  and  an  authority  which  nearly  rendered  them 
sovereign  in  their  own  governments  and  which,  later  on,  was  the 
cause  of  great  troubles. 

An  attempt  made  in  1594  by  John  Chatel,  at  the  instigation 
of  the  Jesuits,  to  assassinate  the  king  caused  the  speedy  expulsion 
of  every  one  belonging  to  the  order  from  France.  Philip  II. 
would  then  have  consented  to  a  peace  if  Henry  had  agreed  to  leave 
to  him  certain  possessions  in  France ;  the  French  nobles  of  his  party 
were  equally  willing  on  condition  that  they  were  allowed  to  keep 
the  provinces  of  which  they  were  masters,  at  the  price  of  homage 
to  the  crown.  The  king  energetically  repulsed  these  pretensions 
and  declared  war  against  Philip,  whose  mosts  powerful  supporters 
were  the  Duke  of  Mercoeur  in  Brittany,  Aumale  in  Pacardy,  and 
Mayenne  in  Burgundy.  The  last  of  the  three,  not  long  before 
chief  of  the  league,  and  an  aspirant  to  the  crown,  had  become  the 
instrument  of  Spain,  He  was  accompanied  by  Valasco,  Constable 
of  Castile,  when  the  king  bore  down  rapidly  to  receive  him  near 
Dijon.  The  battle  of  Fontaine-Francaise  (1595),  where  Henry, 
with  only  three  hundred  horse,  held  his  own  against  two  thousand, 
and  exposed  his  life  in  order  to  save  that  of  Biron,  confounded 
the  hopes  of  Mayenne,  who  declared  himself  ready  to  recognize 
Henry  as  soon  as  that  prince  should  have  received  the  absolution 
of  the  Pope.  This  was  formally  bestowed  on  the  Abbes  Duperron 
and  D'Ossat,  who  w'ere  selected  as  the  king's  representatives,  by 
Clement  VIII.,  in  St.  Peter's,  at  Rome  in  1595,  and  the  Pope 
further  proclaimed  him  King  of  France  and  Navarre. 

This  solemn  act  took  away  all  motive  for  war  and  all  hope 
from  the  leaguers.  Mayenne  obtained  from  the  king  that  his 
family  should  be  declared'  absolved  from  the  crime  of  complicity 
with  the  murder  of  Henry  III. ;  he  placed  his  submission  at  this 
price.  The  edict  was  promulgated.  In  1596  Mayenne  recognized 
Henry  IV.,  and  from  that  time  served  him  faithfully.  The  king 
then  assembled  all  his  forces  against  the  Spaniards,  wdio  had  just 
taken  Calais,  Amiens,  and  many  other  places.  Henry,  without 
money,  made  an  appeal  to  his  people.  The  faithful  Rosny,  Duke 
of   Sully,    assisted   him    in    raising   some   millions    and    an    army. 


ITEXRY     IV  171 

1596-1599 

Amiens  was  retaken  in  tlie  follow  in,c:  year;  tlic  Duke  of  Mercdiir 
treated  then  with  the  kin.i;-,  ami  P.ritlaiiv  laid  dnwn  its  arms,  dliese 
happy  successes  prepared  the  way  for  a  .q-eneral  peace.  Phili]i  II., 
in  1598.  six  months  hefore  his  death.  si,t;ned  the  I'eace  of  \'ervin<. 
delivering  over  to  the  King  c^f  h^rancc  all  the  places  occujjied  by  his 
troops,  with  the  exception  of  the  Camhrai. 

Henry,  freed  from  the  cares  r>f  foreign  wars,  issued  during 
the  same  year  tlie  ce]e1)rate(l  IMict  of  Xantes.  which  fixed  the 
rights  of  the  Protestants  in  France.  This  edict,  drawn  up  by 
Jeannin,  Schomberg,  Gdignrin.  and  tlie  historian  Jacqnes-Anguste 
de  Thou,  granted  to  the  Protestants  the  exercise  of  their  religion. 
It  certified  to  them  admission  to  all  employment,  established  in 
each  parlement  a  chamber  composed  of  magistrates  of  each  reli- 
gion, tolerated  the  general  assemblies  of  the  reformers,  authoriz- 
ing them  to  raise  taxes  among  themselves  for  the  wants  of  their 
church;  lastly,  it  indemnified  their  ministers  and  granted  them 
places  of  safety,  the  principal  of  which  was  La  Rochelle.  The 
Protestants  were  compelled  to  pay  tithes  and  to  observe  the  holy 
days  of  the  Catholic  church.  The  Edict  of  Xantes.  registered  l)y 
the  parlements  after  long  resistance,  jxit  an  end  to  the  disastrous 
wars  which  for  thirty-six  years  had  desolated  the  kingdom. 

The  condition  of  PTance  was  greatly  amelic)rated  by  the 
Treaty  oi  Vervins,  which  ga\-e  ])eace  ^vith  the  foreigners,  and  the 
Edict  of  X'^antes,  which  recstablishetl  internal  tranciuillity.  Two 
causes  of  agitation  and  disorder  threatened,  however,  to  arrest 
the  course  of  this  reviving  ])rosperity;  one  was  the  dissatisfaction 
of  a  large  number  of  Catholic  and  Protestant  nobles,  former 
enemies  of  the  king,  or  his  cf)mpanions  in  arms,  most  of  them 
suffering  from  the  se\'ere  and  economical  measures  of  the 
monarch,  and  affected  either  in  their  fortunes  or  their  pf)liti- 
cal'  importance  bv  the  diminution  which  ])eace  brought  about: 
while  the  other  sprang  from  the  jiersonal  weaknesses  of  the 
monarch  himself.  The  marriage  of  Henry  with  Marguerite 
of  Valois  proved  barren,  ^Marguerite,  taking  no  ])ains  to  con- 
ceal th.e  scandals  of  her  conduct,  lived  ajjart  from  her  husband, 
and  the  austere  Rosny,  Duke  of  vSull\-.  the  confidant  and  prime 
minister  of  the  king,  would,  long  ago,  have  pressed  her  divorce, 
had  he  not  dreaded  tlie  king's  weakness  towards  his  mistress. 
Gabrielle  d'Estrees.  Duchess  of  Beaufort,  whom  Henry  more  than 
once  had  manifested  a  desire  to  raise  to  the  throne.     Gabrielle  ilied 


17^  FRANCE 

1599-1601 

suddenly  in  1599,  and  the  rupture  of  his  marriage  was  pronounced 
the  foHowing  year,  by  the  Church  of  Rome.  After  his  divorce 
Henry  espoused  IMarie  de'  Medici,  niece  of  Francis  TI.,  reigning- 
Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany.  During  the  negotiations,  the  king  com- 
menced a  new  intrigue  with  Henrietta  d'Entragues,  who,  actuated 
by  an  ambitious  father,  exacted  a  promise  of  marriage.  Henry 
was  imprudent  enough  to  sign  one,  engaging  himself  to  marry 
her  if  she  brought  him  a  son  within  the  year,  and  he  further  named 
her  Marquise  de  Verneuil.  This  guilty  and  unfortunate  connec- 
tion, and  the  fatal  engagement  that  sprang  from  it,  reanimated, 
later  on,  the  hopes  of  the  factions,  and  became  a  source  of  uneasi- 
ness to  the  state,  and  of  bitter  grief  to  the  sovereign. 

At  the  head  of  the  malcontent  nobles  there  were,  in  the  Prot- 
estant party,  the  Dukes  of  Bouillon  and  La  Tremouille ;  among  the 
Catholics,  the  Duke  of  Epernon,  Charles  de  Valois,  Count  of  Au- 
vergne,  natural  son  of  Charles  IX.,  and  uterine  brother  of  the 
Marquise  de  Verneuil,  and  last,  but  not  least,  Charles  de  Gontant, 
Duke  de  Biron,  Marshal  of  France  and  governor  of  Burgundy,  son 
of  the  famous  Marshal  de  Biron,  and  himself  one  of  the  most  illus- 
trious and  able  generals  of  Henry  IV.  Charles  Emmanuel,  Duke 
of  Savoy,  retained  possession  of  the  marquisate  of  Saluces,  which 
he  had  usurped.  Summoned  by  the  king  to  make  restitution  of  it, 
he  came  to  the  court  of  France  to  hatch  plots,  and  to  this  end 
offered  one  of  his  daughters  to  Biron,  with  the  full  sover- 
eignty of  Burgundy  as  a  dowry;  on  this  condition  the  marshal 
promised,  in  case  of  wslt,  to  arouse  and  gather  to  his  standard 
all  the  malcontents  against  the  king.  Emboldened  by  these  assur- 
ances, Emmanuel  refused  to  make  restitution  of  the  marquisate 
of  Saluces,  and  Flenry  declared  war  against  him.  In  1600  the 
king  put  two  armies  in  the  field ;  he  took  the  command  of  one,  and 
confided  the  other  to  the  Marshal  de  Biron,  who  was  forced  to 
contjuer  in  spite  of  himself.  Emmanuel  sued  for  peace,  and  by  a 
treaty,  concluded  at  Lyons  in  1601,  was  permitted  to  retain  the 
marc[uisate  of  Saluces  in  exchange  for  Bresse,  Bugey  and  De  Gex, 
which  were  ceded  to  France.  Elenry  IV.  had  received  intelligence 
of  the  trafficking  of  Biron  with  his  enemies.  In  a  conversation 
he  had  with  him  at  Lyons  he  revealed  to  him  his  suspicions ;  the 
marshal  did  not  deny  his  crime,  and  was  generously  pardoned. 
The  king,  however,  had  been  imperfectly  informed  and  Biron 
made  only  an  incomplete  avowal.     This  was  one  of  the  causes  of 


H  E  \  U  V     I  V  17:5 

1601-1692 

his  downfall.  Tie  renewed  his  .L;uilty  correspnndeiice  with  tlie 
Duke  of  Savoy  and  drew  into  his  ei'ir^pirac}-  the  Duke  of  r.Muill.  ^n 
and  the  Connt  of  Anvergne.  They  fomented  di^tnrbances  throui^h- 
out  the  western  provinces,  wliile  TJninoes  and  niany  towns  of 
Gnienne  rose  ai;-ainst  a  recenily  imposed  tax.  of  a  son  jK-r  livrc, 
and  known  under  the  name  of  the  "  Panearte  Tax."  They  at  the 
same  time  spread  the  rumor  that  the  'odious  tax  of  the  j^ahelle 
was  to  be  reestablished  in  (iuienne  and  in  the  oilier  districts  which 
had  been  freed  from  it.  At  last  Biron  and  tlie  Duke  of  Savuy 
flattered  themsehcs  with  the  belief  that  an  a])])roachinpf  insurrec- 
tion was  about  to  aid  their  projects.  Meanwhile  the  kini;  had 
become  acquainted  with  the  intrii:;ues  of  th.e  marshal,  wliile  the 
latter  believed  himself  in  profrmnd  sccuritv.  His  secretary  had 
I)reserved  the  written  proofs  and  details  of  the  crime,  and  these 
he  g"ave  up  to  the  kin"-.  Biron  was  immediately  smnmoned  to 
Fontainebleau,  where  the  court  was  held.  Henry  received  him 
g'raciously.  He  oft'ered  him,  if  he  would  confess,  an  uncondi- 
tional pardon  and  his  favor,  but  Biron  remained  indexible.  L'nable 
to  induce  him  to  secure  his  safety  by  a  frank  acknow  ledL;'ment  (^i 
his  guilt,  the  king  had  no  alternative  Init  to  order  him  and  the 
Count  of  Auvergne  to  be  arrested  and  taken  to  the  Bastile.  When 
confronted  with  his  secretary  who  had  iietrayed  him.  th.e  un- 
fortunate marslial  could  no  longer  deny  his  guilt,  and  he  was  con- 
demned to  death  by  the  Barlement  of  Paris,  and  beheaded  in  the 
court  of  the  Bastile,  Deceniljcr  2,  1601.  The  Count  of  Avergne 
was  pardoned. 

Henry  was  then  at  tlie  height  of  his  fortune.  The  year  fol- 
lowing his  marriage  the  (juccn  Ijoiix-  her  husband  a  son.  who  be- 
came Louis  XIII.  The  kingdom  prospered  by  the  vigilant  atten- 
tions of  the  monarch,  by  his  economy,  and  alxn-e  all.  in  conse- 
quence of  the  care  of  Sully.  It  is  an  immortal  honor  to  the 
memory  of  Henry  that  he  should  have  given  all  his  confi- 
dence to  his  austere  minister,  who  had  so  little  indulgence  f(^r  tlie 
frailties  of  his  master.  This  able  .statesman,  after  the  signature 
of  the  Treaty  of  Vervins,  found  in  tlie  kingdom  neither  an  organ- 
ized army,  nor  commerce  nor  industry,  while  an  enormous  del  it 
weighed  upon  the  treasury,  and  the  credit  (U'  h^"ance  was  anni- 
hilated. In  a  few  years,  however,  he  created  an  imposing  war 
material  and  placed  the  army  u]V)n  a  formidable  hooting.  He  ex- 
posed the  frauds  of  the  farmers  of  tlie  revenue,  who  scarcely  al- 


174  FRANCE 

1602-1606 

lowed  one-tenth  of  the  public  revenue  to  find  its  way  into  the 
treasury,  and  suppressed  the  system  of  underletting,  together  with 
a  multitude  of  offices  of  finance.  Lastly,  he  established  order  and 
the  strictest  economy  in  all  branches  of  the  administration ;  revised 
the  funds  of  the  state,  and  quickly  abolished  any  vexatious 
imposts ;  encouraged  agriculture  and  manufactures,  laying  the  foun- 
dations of  the  silk  trade  of  France  by  the  introduction  of  mulberry 
trees;  and  made  roads  and  built  bridges  in  all  parts  of  the  king- 
dom. The  king  heartily  seconded  Sully  in  all  his  wise  schemes, 
and  turned  his  attention  to  the  enlargement  and  embellishment  of 
Paris.  He  joined  the  suburb  Saint  Germain  to  the  city,  and 
caused  it  to  be  paved;  he  commenced  the  Place  Royale,  and  fin- 
ished the  Pont  Neuf,  and  the  beautiful  facade  of  the  Hotel  de 
Ville,  as  well  as  the  gallery  which  united  the  Louvre  to  the 
Tuileries. 

Henry  IV.,  notwithstanding  his  advancing  years,  still  listened 
to  his  passions,  and  fresh  frailties  nearly  proved  fatal  to  him.  An 
intrigue  with  the  youngest  daughter  of  the  Count  of  Entragues, 
sister  of  the  Marquise  of  Verneuil,  inspired  her  father  with  the 
hope  of  rendering  valid  the  promise  which  the  Marquise  of 
Verneuil  had  formerly  obtained  from  Henry  IV.,  of  nullifying 
his  marriage  with  Marie  de'  Medici,  and  thus  declaring  the  dauphin 
illegitimate  and  elevating  the  eldest  son  of  his  daughter  Henriette 
to  the  throne.  His  principal  accomplices  were  the  Count  of 
Auvergne  and  the  Duke  of  Bouillon ;  the  former  put  himself  in 
communication  with  the  court  of  Madrid,  and  they  all  counted 
upon  the  intervention  of  a  Spanish  army.  It  was  arranged  that 
the  king  should  be  attacked  and  carried  off,  but  an  attempt  made 
by  a  number  of  masked  men  to  seize  the  king  in  a  wood  was 
frustrated  by  his  courage  and  presence  of  mind  (1602),  The 
conspirators  were  discovered:  the  Counts  of  Entragues  and  Au- 
vernge  were  arrested,  v^ith  the  Marquise  of  Verneuil  and  many 
others. 

The  two  counts  and  Henriette  were  pardoned,  but  many 
of  their  accomplices  were  executed.  The  Duke  of  Bouillon  soon 
afterwards  made  his  submission.  Henry  had  now  reached  the 
zenith  of  his  glory  and  of  his  strength.  Master  of  a  flourishing 
kingdom,  of  a  treasury  of  forty  millions,  of  a  numerous  army  con- 
taining the  finest  artillery  in  Europe,  he  found  himself  possessed 
of  the  respect  of  all  his  contemporary  sovereigns.     He   decided 


H  E  N  R  Y     IV  175 

1608-1609 

between  them  as  an  arbitrator,  and  reconciled  their  (hspntes.  Dur- 
ing the  five  previous  years  he  liad  enjoyed  the  favor  of  the  Papal 
court,  having  regained  it  in  1603,  by  the  recall  of  the  Jesuits  at 
the  pressing  solicitations  of  his  confessor.  Father  Cotton.  The 
king  had.  moreover,  the  glory  of  acting,  in  1609.  as  mediator  be- 
tween Spain  and  Holland,  ddic  ne\vd)orn.  but  already  formidable 
navy  of  that  republic  attacked  the  Sixanish  and  Portuguese  estab- 
lishments in  the  Indies,  while  her  armies  triumphed  under  the 
fainous  ^Maurice  of  Nassau,  son  of  \\'illiam  of  Orange.  Tlcm-y 
IV.  brought  about  a  truce  of  twelve  years,  signed  in  1609.  between 
the  two  nations. 

It  was  at  this  period  that  he  committed  the  greatest  fault  of 
his  reign,  that  which  most  troubled  his  peace  of  mind  and  stained 
his  glory.  Loving  to  infatuation  Charlotte  of  Montmorency, 
whom  he  himself  had  caused  to  be  married  to  the  young  Prince 
of  Conde.  he  could  not  master  his  fatal  passifMi.  Conde  fled  with 
his  wife,  and  requested  the  protection  of  the  Archduke  Albert, 
governor  of  the  Low  Countries.  Upon  receiving  this  uncxjiected 
news,  Henry  burst  forth  into  menace,  and  summoned  the  archduke 
to  send  back  to  him  the  fugitives.  Conde  left  Flanders  and  re- 
paired to  Germany,  where  tlie  archduchess  took  the  young  princess 
under  her  safeguard  to  Brussels,  keeping  her  out  of  the  reach  of 
the  emissaries  of  the  king,  wh.o  suddenly  declared  war  against 
Spain  and  Austria  (1609).  This  sudden  declaratiim  of  war,  the 
apparent  motive  of  which  was  personal  \cngeance  ami  the  desire 
to  gratify  a  guilty  passion,  evoked  a  general  outcry  against  him. 
Henry,  notwithstanding,  formed  some  useful  alliances.  ]ohn 
William,  last  Duke  of  Cleves,  had  just  died,  without  children  :  sev- 
eral pretenders  dis])Uted  his  heritage,  and  the  Emperor  Rudolph 
II.  had  summoned  the  decision  of  the  cause  to  his  tribunal.  The 
Protestant  princes  would  not  accept  oi  him  as  a  judge,  and  formed 
against  him,  at  Halle,  a  celebrated  league,  known  under  the  name 
of  the  "  Evangelical  Union."  They  asked  for  the  support  (»f 
France,  and  obtained  it.  Henry  also  allied  himself  with  the  Duke 
of  Savoy,  with  the  petty  so\ereigns  of  Italy  and  with  the  Orisons. 
Philip  III.,  justly  alarmed,  talked  of  peace,  and  offered  his 
daughter,  the  infanta,  to  the  dau])hin.  Henry  rejected  this  pacific 
proposal.  He  was  alive  to  his  own  wrong-doings,  but  though  he 
suffered  he  could  neither  justit'y  himself  nor  change  his  conduct. 
Disquieted,   irritated,  his  sole  thought  was  of  the  young  princess 


176  FRANCE 

1609-1610 

whom  he  pursued,  and  he  hastened  the  warlike  preparation,  im- 
patient to  command  his  army  and  to  march  upon  the  frontier  of 
Flanders. 

He  designed  that  the  queen  should  assume  the  regency  dur- 
ing this  campaign,  and  to  render  her  authority  more  imposing 
he  ordered  that  she  should  be  crowned.  This  ceremonial  took 
place  on  May  13,  1610.  Throughout  the  whole  day  the  king 
was  restless  and  melancholy.  On  the  day  following  his  melan- 
choly increased ;  he  was  agitated  with  painful  presentiments,  which 
his  friends  could  not  remove.  After  dinner,  about  four  o'clock, 
the  officer  of  his  guard  persuaded  him  to  take  the  air  in  his  car- 
riage. On  entering  the  Rue  de  la  Ferronnerie,  a  confusion,  occas- 
ioned by  two  vehicles,  obliged  the  royal  carriage  to  stop,  and  dis- 
persed the  loyal  servants.  At  this  moment  a  man  named  Francis 
Ravaillac  mounted  upon  the  wheel  and  dealt  the  king  a  blow  with 
a  knife,  between  the  second  and  third  ribs.  Henry  cried  out: 
"  I  am  wounded !  "  but  the  assassin,  not  disconcerted,  dealt  him  a 
second  blow,  stabbing  him  through  the  heart,  on  which  the  king, 
heaving  a  deep  sigh,  died  soon  afterwards.  Thus  perished  Henry 
IV.,  at  the  age  of  fifty-seven.  The  regicide,  who  made  no  attempt 
to  escape,  was  immediately  arrested,  tried,  and  condemned  to  be 
torn  asunder  by  horses.  Never  did  the  death  of  a  king  cause  such 
a  general  stupor  or  cause  more  tears  to  flow.  France  was  plunged 
into  mourning;  trade  was  suspended  in  Paris;  work  of  all  kind 
ceased;  the  country-folks  when  assured  of  their  misfortune  cried 
with  sobs :  "  We  have  lost  our  father !  "  Heiu-y  w^as  worthy  of 
the  grand  and  endearing  title  of  *'  father  of  the  people,"  for  the 
happiness  of  his  subjects  was  the  aspiration  of  his  heart  and  the 
end  of  his  whole  life.  He  ameliorated  their  condition,  created 
for  them  new  sources  of  wealth,  and  rendered  his  kingdom,  wliose 
limits  he  enlarged,  as  flourishing  as  it  was  possible  to  make  it  in 
twelve  years  after  the  horrible  calamities  of  the  wars  of  religion. 
The  wise  administration  of  'this  good  king,  as  well  as  the  heroic 
qualities  which  distinguished  him,  well  merited  the  surname  of 
"  Great,"  which  posterity  has  bestowed  upon  him. 

Henry  IV.  left  his  kingdom  in  a  flourishing  state — treasure 
amounting  to  fifteen  millions,  large  bodies  of  well-disciplined  troops, 
strong  places  abundantly  supplied  with  the  material  of  war,  firm 
alliances  with  other  kingdoms,  and  a  well-composed  council  of 
state.     After  his  death   the  feebleness  of  the  government,  the  quar- 


HENRY     IV  177 

1610-1614 

rels  of  tlie  princes  and  the  jealous  ambition  and  caprices  of  tlie 
qiiccn-mother.  speedily  scattered  all  these  elements  of  pros])eritv. 
Marie  de'  Medici,  an  imperious,  violent  and  vindictive  unman,  at 
once  claimed  the  re.^ency  of  the  kin^-d.^m  for  Louis  XHl.  'Idiere 
was  no  law,  howexer,  Ijy  which  she  could  le-ally  claim  tins 
office,  and  none  which  dehned  its  attributes.  The  monarchy  had 
no  fundamental  institution,  and  it  was  from  this  fa.ct  that  arose  the 
numerous  plai^ues  which  ahlicted  l^-ance  on  each  occurrence  of  a 
minority.  On  the  other  hand,  none  oi  the  members  of  the  Bourbon 
family  were  in  a  ])osition  to  dispute  her  autliority.  d'hc  Parlement 
of  Paris  was  immediately  convoked,  and,  three  hours  after  the  death 
of  the  king,  his  widow  was  declared  to  be  the  recent. 

The  Cjuestion  of  war  or  jieace  was  the  llrsi  which  had  to  be 
decided.  Sully  wished  to  continue  the  war  with  the  House  of 
Austria,  but  his  advice  was  only  iolkjwed  in  jjart.  The  Duke  of 
Savoy  was  abandoned  to  the  resentment  (jf  Spain,  while  in  Ger- 
many operations  were  confined  to  the  siege  and  capture  of  Juliers, 
in  1610,  which  was  subsequentlv  gi\en  up.  d'his  was  the  onlv 
result  of  the  campaign,  and  the  unsettled  state  of  the  country  then 
rendered  it  necessary  for  the  regent  to  abandon  entirely  the  policy 
of  Henry  IV. 

Conde  reentered  France,  and,  as  the  price  of  his  adhesion  to 
the  regency,  demanded  immense  pecunian-  compensation.  All  the 
courtiers  followed  his  example,  claimed  gold  or  honcn-s,  and  sup- 
posing that,  to  secure  the  peaceful  possession  of  the  regenc}-.  it  was 
only  necessary  to  enrich  her  friends  and  her  enemies,  ■Medici  con- 
verted into  gifts  and  ])ensions  the  treasure  left  Iw  the  late  king,  and 
wdien  it  was  exhausted  found  herself  deprived  oi  the  means  of 
defense  against  those  whose  cu])idity  or  ambition  she  had  excited 
without  possessing  the  means  of  satisfying  them.  The  whide  of 
France  appeared  to  be  delivered  over  to  the  mercy  of  a  number  of 
plunderers  whose  numbers  insured  them  immunity.  The  nobles 
demanded  tolls  on  roads  which  were  free  anil  taxes  in  cities  which 
were  exempt  from  them.  "Jdiey  created  cjttices,  patents  oi  nobility, 
and  priviliges  of  all  sorts  for  money,  and  secretly  increased  the 
amount  of  every  s])ecies  of  duty  and  excise.  The  honest  Sully, 
unable  to  supj)ort  a  go \-ernment  which  connived  at  such  jiroceetl- 
ings,  quitted  the  council  and  retiretl  to  his  estates. 

The  Guises  and  the  Gondes.  the  l)Ouillons  and  the  l^pern-ons, 
remained  the  sole  masters  of  the  kingdom,  and  vied  with  each  other 


178  FRANCE 

1614 

in  cupidity,  egotism,  and  violence.  In  the  midst  of  these  disorders 
Marie  de'  Medici  raised  her  favorite,  Concini,  Marquis  of  Ancre,  an 
ItaHan,  to  the  highest  pinnacle  of  honor  and  fortune.  He  was 
marshal  of  France,  although  he  had  never  borne  arms. 

A  revolt  burst  forth  at  length,  but  it  was  not  the  excess  of  the 
public  misfortunes  which  lit  its  flame.  At  the  commencement  of 
1614  the  Prince  of  Conde,  the  Dukes  of  Nevers,  Mayenne,  Bouil- 
lon, and  Longueville,  being  leagued  against  Concini,  seized  Mezieres 
in  the  Ardennes,  and  raised  the  standard  of  insurrection.  Conde 
was  at  the  head  of  the  movement,  and  published  a  manifesto  which 
exposed,  in  bitter  terms,  the  ill  administration  of  the  queen, 
reproaching  her  with  having  failed  to  observe  the  Edict  of  Nantes, 
and  with  having  overwhelmed  the  poor  with  taxes,  and  openly 
attacking  the  insolent  foreigners  in  whose  hands  was  the  govern- 
ment of  the  kingdom.  This  movement  made  by  grandees  in  the 
name  of  the  popular  interests  attracted  however,  but  little  popular 
sympathy.  The  queen,  by  the  advice  of  Concini.  bought  off  the 
malcontents,  in  16 14,  by  the  Treaty  of  Sainte-Menehould,  surnamed 
the  "  Paltry  Peace."  By  this  treaty  the  queen  increased  the  dig- 
nities and  pensions  of  the  rebel  lords,  and  promised  a  prompt  assem- 
bly of  the  Estates-General. 

Louis  XIII.  was  now  in  his  fourteenth  year,  and  was  recog- 
nized as  of  age,  but  it  was  long  after  this  ere  he  was  anything  save 
king  in  name.  Marie  de'  Medici  still  retained  her  power,  and  for 
the  purpose  of  executing  the  Treaty  of  Sainte-Menehould  she 
convoked  the  Estates-General  for  October  26  of  that  year.  These 
Estates  were  the  last  which  assembled  before  those  of  1789. 
The  queen  and  her  ministers  endeavored  to  paralyze  their  influence 
by  setting  each  order  against  the  others,  and  in  this  they  were  suc- 
cessful. 

The  assembly  was  dissolved  in  the  course  of  the  following  year 
without  having  achieved  any  important  result,  and  the  deputies 
were  dismissed  with  a  vague  promise  that  the  government  would 
examine  their  memorials  and  take  into  consideration  their  demands. 
The  memorials  of  the  Third  Estate  contained  the  elements  of  a 
portion  of  the  reforms  accomplished,  at  the  close  of  the  following 
century,  by  a  more  celebrated  assembly.  These  were,  a  uniform 
system  of  customs  and  weights  and  measures,  the  abolition  of  mas- 
terships and  wardships,  the  suppression  of  farmers-general  of  the 
finances  and  of  exceptional  tribunals  and  the  diminution  of  the 


HENRY     IV  179 

1614-1616 

excise  duties,  and  of  aids.  Rut  of  all  these  wise  and  le.i^itiinate 
demands    not  one  was  (granted. 

The  discontented  party,  and  Cnnde  especially,  offered  an  ener- 
getic opposition  to  the  marria,G:e  of  Louis  XIII.  with  the  Infanta 
of  Spain,  afterwards  celehrated  under  the  name  of  Anne  of  Aus- 
tria, ure^ing  the  necessity  of  crushing  the  House  of  Austria  rather 
than  adding  to  its  strength.  The  r|ueen  treated  thc<e  represent-. - 
tions  with  contempt,  and  tlie  marriage  was  resolved  on.  Condc 
immediately  withdrew  to  Clermont  in  r>eauv(-)isis.  Bouillon  to  his 
principality  of  Sedan,  !\Iayenne  to  Soissons.  T.ongueville  to  Picardy. 
They  no  longer  hoped  for  success  save  i)y  force  rif  arms  and  pre- 
pared for  the  conflict.  The  Protestants,  excited  to  action  by  the 
Duke  of  Rohan,  ranged  themselves  on  their  side,  and  began  to  levy 
troops.  The  principal  mim'sters  of  the  king  were,  at  that  time,  the 
aged  Villeroi,  the  President  Tc.-uinin.  and  the  Chancellor  of  Sillcry. 
They  treated  the  above-mentioned  hostile  dcmonstratiiins  with  indif- 
ference, and  hastened  the  conclusion  of  the  marriage.  Immediately 
afterwards  the  queen-mother  entered  into  negotiations  with  the 
young  king's  enemies,  and  signed,  in  [616.  the  I'reaty  of  Poudun, 
the  terms  of  W'hich  were  entirely  to  their  ad\antage.  11ie  i^rince 
and  his  adherents  were  declared  intioccnt  and  good  servants  of  the 
king,  considerable  sums  of  money  were  bestowed  upon  them  and 
a  certain  measure  of  satisfaction  was  accorded  to  the  Calvinists 
and  the  Parlement. 

The  old  ministers  were  immediately  dismissed.  Du  Plessis. 
Bishop  of  LuQon,  afterwards  the  famous  Cardinal  Richelieu,  entered 
the  new  council,  which  was  under  the  chief  direction  c^f  C<^nde,  who 
speedily  became  all  powerful,  and  made  his  power  felt  by  ^Medici 
and  her  favorites,  and  especially  S()  by  ^farshal  d'Ancre.  The 
queen-mother,  who  saw  plainly  tliat  Condc  sought  to  reduce  her 
authority  in  the  state  t(j  a  nullity,  and  j)(tssibly  aimed  at  the  throne 
itself,  caused  the  prince  to  be  arrested  in  the  name  of  the  king,  on 
September  i,  161 6,  as  he  was  entering  the  council  chamber. 
Orders  had  been  given  to  seize  his  partisans,  but  they  escaped  and 
flew  to  arms. 

Conde  was  shut  up  in  the  Bastile,  and  the  queen  sent  into  the 
field  three  amn'es  against  the  insurgents,  who  had  tied  to  Soissons. 
Concini  reappeared  at  the  court,  more  powerful  than  ever,  inilated 
with  the  most  unbounded  pride,  and  so  ricli  that  he  was  able  to 
maintain  an  army  of  five  or  six  thousand  men  at  his  own  ex])cn-c. 


180  FRANCE 

1616-1619 

The  young  king,  however,  whose  wishes  he  frequently 
thwarted,  bore  the  tyranny  of  the  marshal  as  impatiently  as  that  of 
the  prince,  and  resolved  at  length  to  release  himself  from  his  state 
of  pupilage.  He  might  have  achieved  this  purpose  by  legal  meth- 
ods, but  his  dark,  vindictive  spirit  preferred  assassination.  On 
Monday,  April  26,  1617,  as  the  marshal  was  entering  the  Louvre, 
to  attend  the  council,  Vitry,  captain  of  the  guards,  stopped  him 
and  demanded  his  sword.  Concini  made  a  movement,  but  imme- 
diately fell,  pierced  by  three  balls,  and  expired  on  the  spot.  When 
informed  of  the  great  catastrophe,  the  insurgents,  who  had  fled  to 
Soissons,  laid  down  their  arms  and  gave  themselves  up  to  the  king 
without  making  any  terms,  imputing  to  the  Italian  tyrant  all  the 
troubles  and  misfortunes  of  France.  The  late  ministers,  Villeroi, 
Sillery,  Jeannin  and  Duvair,  returned  with  them.  The  queen- 
mother  was  exiled  from  the  court,  and  selected  Blois  as  her  place  of 
residence.  The  able  Du  Plessis,  who  had  been  minister  under  Con- 
cini, demanded  permission  to  follow  her,  apparently  the  devoted 
servant  of  a  protectress  of  whom,  at  a  later  period,  he  was  the  most 
implacable  enemy.  He  who  had  the  greatest  share  in  this  revolu- 
tion, and  who  profited  by  it  the  most,  was  the  young  Charles 
d' Albert  of  Luynes,  the  companion  of  the  king's  pleasures,  who  had 
risen  rapidly  in  the  royal  favor.  He  was  created  a  duke,  over- 
whelmed with  honors  and  riches,  and  became  the  possessor  of  all 
the  late  marshal's  property,  which  had  been  confiscated,  and  all  his 
power. 

Conde,  in  the  depths  of  his  prison,  and  the  queen,  in  the  place 
of  her  exile,  continued  to  plot  and  instigate  their  partisans,  but 
the  Duke  of  Luynes  neutralized  their  influence  by  setting  them  one 
against  the  other.  Now  he  menaced  Conde  with  the  recall  of  the 
queen  to  court,  and  now  he  threatened  the  queen  that  Conde  should 
be  set  at  liberty.  A  skillfully  contrived  conspiracy,  however,  speed- 
ily changed  the  whole  aspect  of  affairs.  By  the  aid  of  the  Duke  of 
Epernon  the  queen-mother  -escaped  from  the  chateau  of  Blois, 
where  she  was  kept  under  strict  surveillance,  and  retired  to 
Angouleme.  When  the  count  received  information  of  the  queen's 
escape,  Luynes  wished  to  pursue  her  immediately  with  an  armed 
force,  but  the  king  preferred  to  temporize,  and  an  able  peacemaker 
presented  himself  in  the  person  of  Du  Plessis,  who,  after  having 
secretly  obtained  the  king's  consent,  persuaded  the  queen  to  con- 
fide in  him  by  the  aid  of  the  jealous  D'Epernon  himself,  and  a  peace 


IIEXRY     IV  181 

1619-1621 

was  in  due  course  arrant,a'(l  by  liis  exertions.  The  ([uecii  obiaitiefl 
the  crovcrnnietit  of  Anj(ni.  with  re,<;al  rights  and  tliree  towns  which 
were  given  her  as  places  of  safety.  De  Lnynes.  more  a  courtier 
than  a  statesman  or  solfh'er.  was  not  equal  to  the  work  of  maintain- 
ing order  in  France.  The  disturbance  iiad  scarcely  subsided  bel'ore 
it  again  arose;  the  partisans  of  the  queen,  or  rather  the  enemies  of 
the  favorite,  seized  a  number  of  ])laces,  and  were  s])eedily  in  pos- 
session of  half  the  king(K)m.  The  queen-mother  at  this  time  was 
at  Angers,  and  ^^laycnne  and  D'r'q)ernon,  fearing  a  suri)rise,  wished 
her  to  retire  to  Guienne.  Du  Plessis,  however,  who  was  secretly 
in  the  king's  interest,  resisted  this  measure,  and  the  (|ueen  remained. 
Louis  XIII.  set  out  at  the  head  of  his  army,  and  having  lirst  reduced 
Normandy,  arrived  before  Angers  with  all  his  forces.  An  engage- 
ment took  place  at  Pont-de-Ce  l)etween  his  troops  and  those  of  the 
queen,  in  which  the  latter  were  immediately  routed.  Peace  was 
now  concluded,  and  a  reconciliation  t(X)k  place  between  Marie  de' 
Medici  and  her  son.  The  queen  returned  tt)  Paris  and  Du  I'lessis 
received  the  promise  of  a  cardinal's  hat  in  return  for  his  dotible 
treason.  The  king  led  his  army  into  Beam,  where  the  revolt  had 
found  a  certain  number  of  partisans,  and  reestablished  in  this 
province,  by  a  solemn  decree,  the  Catholic  religion,  which  had  been 
abolished  by  Jeanne  d'Albret.  binally,  he  bestowed  a  parlement 
on  Pau,  and  then  returned  to  Paris,  where  he  was  received  in 
triumph. 

The  reformed  party  in  the  kingtlom  became  more  and  more 
disquieted  by  the  manifest  Catholic  tendency  of  the  government. 
At  the  general  assembly  of  l^a  Rochelle,  in  1621,  they  distributetl 
their  seven  hundred  churches  in  eight  circles,  and  drew  up  a 
species  of  C(jnstitution,  in  forty-se\en  articles,  which  regulated, 
under  the  king's  authority,  the  levy  of  the  taxes  and  the  discipline 
of  the  troops,  and  which  was,  in  fact,  the  creation  of  a  distinct 
government  in  the  bosom  of  the  state.  In  1621  Louis  XI  If. 
marched  against  them,  and  subdued  Saintonge  and  Poitt)u.  Rochelle 
was  invested,  and  Montauban.  defended  by  the  Marquis  of  Force, 
resisted  a  siege  which  cost  the  Catholics  the  loss  of  eight  thousand 
men  and  the  Duke  of  Mayenne,  the  son  of  the  famous  chief  of 
the  league. 

There  was  a  universal  outcry  in  I'rance  against  the  Duke  of 
Luynes.  to  whom  was  attributed  the  blame  of  this  reverse.  In  the 
course  of  this  expedition  the  favorite  had  still  further  aggrandized 


182  FRANCE 

1621-1624 

his  position,  and  had  added  to  his  numerous  offices  those  of  con- 
stable and  keeper  of  tlie  seals.  He  knew  that  if  he  would  retain 
his  influence  with  the  king  he  must  be  everything;  but  he  did  not 
long  enjoy  his  new  dignities,  for  a  fever  carried  him  ofT  in  four 
days.  The  Protestant  Lesdiguieres,  commander-in-chief  of  the 
royal  army,  became  a  convert  to  Catholicism,  and  was  created  con- 
stable. His  conversion  w^as  the  signal  for  numerous  defections 
in  the  Protestant  party.  The  Marquis  of  Force  and  the  Count  of 
Chatillon,  Coligny's  grandson,  surrendered,  the  one  Montauban 
and  the  other  Aigues-Mortes,  in  return  for  large  sums  and  mar- 
shals' batons.  Rohan,  however,  remained  incorruptible  and  desired 
peace,  which  was  signed  at  Montpellier.  The  Edict  of  Nantes  was 
confirmed,  the  king  allowing  the  Protestants  to  assemble  for  the 
purposes  of  their  worship,  but  prohibiting  them  to  meet  for  political 
objects.  Du  Plessis,  after  the  Peace  of  Montpellier,  obtained  the 
cardinal's  hat,  and  henceforth  became  known  under  the  celebrated 
name  of  Cardinal  Richelieu,  and  was  soon  after  made  a  member  of 
the  council.  This  able  statesman  soon  obtained  a  great  influence 
over  the  young  king's  mind  by  pointing  out  to  him  the  vices  of  his 
government,  the  immense  resources  of  France,  and  the  secret  of  its 
strength,  and  ultimately  became  all-powerful,  possessing  the  great 
art  of  rendering  himself  indispensable  to  the  king,  although  the 
latter  by  no  means  liked  him.  Louis  XUI.,  in  fact,  who  dearly 
liked  arbitrary  power,  but  was  incapable  of  compelling  obedience, 
found  in  Richelieu  the  strength  of  mind  in  which  he  was  deficient, 
and  believed  that,  with  his  aid,  he  was  an  absolute  monarch,  while 
in  reality  he  was  a  slave  all  his  life. 


Chapter   XT 

RICHELIEU    AxND    THE    THHnT    YEARS'   WAR. 

1624-1O4;? 

A  GREAT  chan_c:c  passed  over  France  as  soon  as  Richelieu 
seized  with  a  firm  liand  the  (hrection  of  affairs.  The 
resoUitions  of  the  council,  which  the  Spam'ards.  by  the 
assistance  of  Anne  of  Austria,  had  hitherto  always  known,  were 
now  kept  secret.  The  ambassadors  were  instructed  to  sjjcak  and 
act  with  boldness.  1die  ambassadors  from  Rome  havinn:  pointed 
out  to  the  cardinal  the  various  steps  which  he  should  take  in  iiis 
neg'otiations  with  that  court,  Richelieu  replied.  ''  The  kin^q-  is  ni)t 
willing  to  be  trifled  with;  you  will  tell  tlie  Tope  that  an  army  will 
be  sent  into  the  Valtelline."'  This  was  the  first  step  in  the  new  path 
of  French  diplomacy.  The  Valtelline,  a  valley  of  the  Tyrolean 
Alps,  was  important  to  Spain  as  a  means  of  communicatii)n  between 
the  Tyrol  and  the  Milanese  territorv.  ddie  people  of  this  valley, 
who  were  Catholics,  had  been  incited  to  revolt  against  the  Protestant 
canton  of  the  Orisons,  to  which  they  belonged,  and  forts  had  been 
raised  to  command  its  passage,  which,  in  accordance  with  a  con- 
vention with  S])ain.  were  garriMincd  by  Papal  trnops.  The  Mar(|uis 
of  Coeuvres,  in  pursuance  of  orders  from  Richelieu,  arrived  sud- 
denly in  the  Valtelline  with  a  biMJy  of  troops,  repulsed  those  of  the 
Pontiff  and  rapidly  took  ])osscssion  of  the  forts  and  all  the  strong 
places.  The  Spaniards  a\enged  themselves  by  promising  their  sup- 
port to  the  Calvinisls,  who  cnmplained  that  the  conditions  of  the 
Peace  of  Montpellier  had  been  ill  observed.  On  this  occasion  they 
were  the  aggressors.  Soubise.  with  a  lleet,  made  a  descent  u\)on 
and  seized  tlie  Tsle  of  Khe,  and  Rohan  raised  a  revolt  in  Languediic. 
Richelieu  sent  against  them  D"lq)ernon,  Themines,  and  Mont- 
morency. The  latter  dis[)ersed  their  fieet,  d\)iras  wrested  from 
them  the  Tsle  of  Khe,  which  was  the  defense  of  the  i)ort  of  Rochelle, 
and  the  minister  granted  a  fresh  ])eace  to  the  vanquished. 

The  Valtelline  war  was  then  terminated  by  the  I'reaty  of  Mon- 
con,  in  Aragon  (1625),  by  which  the  Valtelline  was  restored  to  the 

183 


184  FRAN  C  E 

1625-1626 

Grisons.  The  two  queens,  Marie  de'  jVIedici  and  Anne  of  Austria, 
were  in  the  highest  degree  jealous  of  Richeheu's  influence  over  the 
king,  and  condemned  his  pohcy  of  hostihty  towards  the  Pope  and 
Spain.  Gaston,  tlie  king's  brother,  hated  Richeheu  because  at  first 
he  had  refused  him  any  pkice  or  authority  in  the  council;  and  the 
courtiers,  from  whom  Richelieu  withheld  all  access  to  the  public 
treasury,  overwhelmed  him  with  insults  and  accusations.  It  was 
against  this  formidable  league  that  the  cardinal  now  had  to  con- 
tend. The  soul  of  the  conspiracy  was  its  principal  concocter,  the 
young  and  imprudent  Chalais,  a  passionate  admirer  of  the  Duchess 
of  Chevreuse,  one  of  the  cardinal's  enemies.  With  Gaston  and 
Chalais  were  joined  the  Duke  of  Vendome,  governor  of  Brittany, 
the  grand  prior  of  Vendome,  his  brother,  both  natural  sons  of 
Henry  IV.,  the  queen,  and  a  multitude  of  inferior  accomplices. 
The  object  of  this  league  was  to  overthrow  the  minister,  and  those 
of  whom  it  was  composed  were  even  accused  of  a  desire  to  depose 
the  king,  crown  Gaston  in  his  stead,  and  marry  the  latter  to  Anne 
of  Austria,  Informed  of  this  vast  conspiracy,  Richelieu  made  the 
king  acquainted  witli  its  existence,  and  cunningly  frightened  him 
by  a  prospect  of  dangers  wdiich  only  threatened  his  own  ministry. 
The  feeble  Gaston  betrayed  his  accomplices.  The  brothers  Ven- 
dome were  arrested  and  sent  to  the  chateau  of  Amboise.  Chalais, 
discovered  to  have  been  guilty,  by  his  letters  to  the  Duchess  of 
Chevreuse,  of  having  insulted  the  king,  and  giving  seditious  advice 
to  Gaston,  was  condemned  to  death  by  a. commission,  and  executed. 
The  grand  prior  died  at  Amboise,  while  the  Duke  of  Vendome  was 
only  released  from  prison  after  having  made  all  the  confessions 
required  of  him.  The  queen  was  subjected  to  the  observance  of  a 
severe  system  of  etiquette,  and  the  entrance  of  men  into  her  apart- 
ments in  the  king's  absence  was  strictly  forbidden.  A  great  num- 
ber of  nobles  were  disgraced  and  a  guard  of  musqueteers  was 
granted  to  the  cardinal.  Finally,  Gaston,  in  return  for  the  con- 
fessions which  he  made,  and- his  consent  to  espouse  ]\llle.  Bourbon 
of  ]\Iontpensier,  received  the  rich  duchy  of  Orleans,  in  exchange 
for  the  duchy  of  Anjou,  of  which  he  had  hitherto  borne  the  title. 
The  result  oi  this  great  intrigue  was  to  increase  the  power  of  tlie 
minister,  who  exercised  the  sovereign  authority  without  any  of 
those  who  ])osscssed  the  great  offices  of  the  crown  being  able  to 
counterbalance  his  autliority.  There  was  no  longer  any  constable, 
that  office  having  been  abolished  after  the  death  of  Lesdiguieres, 


^rillK'J'V      VKAllS'     \V  A  11  KS."> 

1626- 162D 

and  tliat  oi  o;ran(l  admiral  had  hccii  ciivcrtcd  iiitn  a  ,i:-(,!ur;d  siipcT 
intcndcncc   of   cnuniercc   and   naval   aiVairs,    uiiicli    Kic'iLlicu   liad 
adjudged  to  Idniself. 

An  assembly  of  notables,  convoked  in  1626,  wa^  opened,  ai  the 
Tuileries  by  the  Cbancellor  Marillac,  kee[)er  of  tlie  seals.  It  sanc- 
tioned all  the  procee(hn<;-s  of  the  cardinal;  fnrther  cjemandrd  that 
the  national  power  should  be  supported  bv  a  ^■■t;ind:!iL;'  .■'r!n\  :  tiia'. 
the  commercial  spirit  and  traffic  witii  di-tani  parts  .-hiaild  \)c 
encouraged  by  the  establishment  of  great  ci.mpanic-.  and  tiint  thr 
classes  engaged  in  peaceful  pursuits  >!ioiiM  be  j)rotc'cted  aga;n^t 
the  outrages  of  the  military.  The}-  tinallv  voted  uitli  e:uha;'>i:i-ni 
the  equipment  of  two  ileets,  the  one  t'or  tiie  h.-g':  seas,  and  the 
other  for  the  ^Mediterranean — I-'rance  at  thi<  jiua  d  p' i-se-;.-ing  oulv 
a  few  galleys,  ddie  notables  separated  in  lYli^aiarv.  \t:jy,  :[\u\  a 
commission  was  immediately  rippoiuted  to  re  luce  to  a  c  de  or  b-dv 
of  laws  the  reforms  promised  either  to  the  last  a.-^euib'v  or  to  the 
Estates  in  1614.  'l"wo  }-oars  were  de\o!vd  to  {]]':<  gre:it  wwrk.  aii'l 
at  length,  in  Janu.ai'y,  i^jg,  an  (~>rdip.;iMce  was  pr  imdj.atvd,  C' in- 
sisting of  461  articles,  which  is  one  of  the  great  m  inunu;!it^  of  old 
French  legislation,  ddu's  code  nirt  on  many  points  llie  necessities 
of  the  period,  but  afforded  no  relixriti' in  to  the  sliac]-;!i'-^  iM'  t!;e 
municipal  regime,  wliich  it  subjcctci!  t  »  oine  um'fiirm  rule  f' ir  the 
whole  kingdom.  We  here  see  t:i:',t  ten<lenc\-  ti)  central;. -at:  01  which 
is  doubtless  useful  when  its  action  is  limited  to  matters  uiiicii  p;-  -p 
erlv  come  under  the  notice  of  the  >~taLC.  l)ut  which,  wiien  .'ibn-e', 
has  led  France  into  excc-se.-..  and  all  the  dangers  of  nKtdern  ci-.^l: 
zation. 

l*>esh    conspiracies    were    speedily    fornicel    against    Richelieu. 
Under    pretense    of    the    (  ppre-^'' 'U-    ^ih'l'eied    l.iy    the     I'r.  testan.t 
churches,  a  rupture  tonk  place  between    I'h-an.ce  paid    Ivigland,  ;uid 
r>uckingham,  with  a  foi-midalile  ileei.  dc^cen  led.  in    loj^.  up  ■]\  lie 
coasts  of  l'"rance.      Many  ('al\ini>t  leadier.^  sup])  »iaed  llie  iu\a>-  i;  . 
but   their   rising  co:5t   tliem    dear.      Tlie    baiglisli    had    disenl!)arI^e' 
near  Rochelle,  in  the  l.de  i^i  Ulie.  ;uid  attacked  tlie  cilailel  of  SaiiU 
]\rartin,  but  on  the  aj'proach  of   .Marshal   Schomherg  with   nuu'er 
ous   reinforcements.    r.ucLiughp.ni   .-et    >ail   and   ;!baudiiued    hi--    an 
prudent   allies.      'J'he   nioiueul    had    ui  iw    come    lor   the   carduiai    t<i 
destroy  a  pierpetual  Snurce  of  diturbance,  and  tiie  1 ';-i  ites-.ant  p.ir;\. 
In    1(32/    he  laal  .^iege  to   Koelielle.  c.  luunaiidiug  llie    fnie.,  >   :n   -per 
son.     The  siege  was  a   remarkable  one   lor   the  courage  and   per 


186 


FRANCE 


1627-1629 

severance  which  were  displayed  on  both  sides.  An  attempt  made 
by  the  EngHsh  to  relieve  the  besieged  by  an  attack  on  the  king's 
troops  from  the  sea  proved  abortive,  and  at  length,  after  an  heroic 
defense  of  a  year's  duration,  the  Rochellois,  driven  to  despair,  con- 
sented to  surrender.  The  result  was  that  their  town  lost  its  privi- 
leges, but  that  they  retained  the  right  of  worshiping  according  to 
their  faith.  France,  delivered  at  length  from  the  apprehension  of 
civil  war,  now  ardently  desired  peace.  Richelieu,  however, 
determined  to  carry  out  the  projects  of  Henry  IV.  against  Austria, 


Siege,  of 
ROCHELLE 


rendering  France  the  first  nation  in  Europe.     A  pretext  for  war 
was  not  long  wanting. 

Vicenzo  di  Gonzaga,  Duke  of  Mantua  and  Montferrat,  died 
in  1627,  and  his  cousin,  Charles  de  Gonzaga,  Duke  of  Nevers, 
claimed  to  be  heir  of  his  states.  But  the  emperor,  the  S]:)aniards, 
and  the  Duke  of  Savoy  set  up  in  opposition  to  him  the  Duke  of 
Guastalla,  a  member  of  the  -elder  branch  of  the  Gonzaga  family, 
and  supported  his  pretended  rights  by  the  invasion  of  the  two  princi- 
palities. Richelieu  pointed  out  to  the  king  how  much  it  was  to  the 
interest  of  h^rancc  to  assist  a  prince  who  was  half  French,  and 
especially  to  counterbalance  the  influence  of  Austria  in  upi)cr  Italy. 
Louis  XIII.  arrived  with  his  army  in  the  depth  of  winter  at  tlie 
foot  of  the  Alps,  and  having  forced  the  pass  or  defile  of  Susa,  and 
defeated  the  Piedmontcse  trooj^s  wliich  held  it.  the  Duke  of  .'^avoy, 
terrified,  abandoned  the  Spaniards,  and  signed  at  Susa,  in  1628,  a 


T  II  I  11  T  Y     Y  i:  A  R  S  '     W  A  R  187 

1629-1631 

treaty  whicli  secured  to  the  Duke  nf  \\-vers  the  peaceable  pos-e-Mou 
of  Mantua  and  Moiufcrrat.  J.^uis  Xlll.,  on  his  return  i\\>\n  Pied- 
mont, fell  rapidly  upon  the  small  number  of  stront^  plaee>  still 
jjossessed  by  tlie  rrote<tant>.  and  burned  or  destroyed  tlujse  which 
still  existed.  Rohan  imw  went  into  exile  and  peace  was  concluded 
on  June  28.  iCi_'().  at  Alais.  The  I'n'testants,  however,  still  pre- 
served the  ri^ht  nf  wor>hipin<^-  accordin<^^  to  their  own  tenets,  and 
all  their  pri\i1c!^es  as  established  b_\-  the  j-'dict  of  Xantes. 

The  tiamc  of  war  was  speedily  relii^hled  in  Italy.  The  cmjjire 
and  Spain  had  refused  to  reco.^nize  the  Treaty  of  Susa  and  the 
ambitious  Duke  of  Savoy  had  hastened  to  su])port  anew  his  former 
allies  in  their  designs  upon  Mantua  and  Montierrat.  His  son, 
X'ictor  Amadeus,  husband  of  the  Princess  Christina,  sister  of  Louis 
XI] r.,  succeeded  him  in  1630,  and  adopted  his  i)o!icy.  The  presence 
in  Piedmont  of  a  [''rench  army  and  the  concjuest  of  Pignero!  and 
other  places  from  Victor  Amadeus  could  not  prevent  the  capture 
of  Mantua,  dhe  capitulation  of  C'asal  speedily  followed  this  catas- 
trophe, but  the  signing  of  peace  at  the  Diet  of  Ratisbon.  in  163 1, 
put  an  end  to  this  war  of  succession.  The  emperor  undertook  to 
put  the  Duke  of  .\e\crs  in  po>session  of  Mantua  and  Montferrat, 
and  b'rance  j:)romised  to  restore  the  con(|uests  made  at  the  expense 
of  Victor  Amadeus,  and  to  form  no  alliance  with  the  enemies  of 
the  empire.  Various  attem])ts  w  ei'e  now  made  to  destroy  Richelieu's 
influence  in  the  affairs  of  the  country.  The  (pieen-nKAlier,  always 
hostile  to  the  cardinal,  and  enraged  at  the  results  of  the  war  in 
PiednKjnt  undertaken  against  her  son-in-kuv,  Victor  Amadeus.  de- 
manded of  the  king,  with  indignant  tears,  that  he  should  disgrace 
the  cardinal  in  her  presence.  Louis  XI IL,  to  put  an  end  to  this 
painful  scene,  ordered  Richelieu  to  retire.  The  latter  consicleretl 
himself  disgraced,  but,  encouraged  by  his  friends,  he  determined, 
Ijefore  departing,  to  make  a  linal  effort,  lie  obtained  an  interview 
with  the  king,  justified  himself,  receised  orders  to  remain  in  oflice, 
and,  while  his  enemies  weie  already  trium])hing  o\er  his  fall,  re- 
api^jcared,  more  ])o\\erful  than  e\er.  The  hrst  act  bv  which  Riche- 
lieu attested  his  reestabli.-lunent  in  jiower  was  the  arrest  of  the  two 
brothers  M.arillac — tlie  one  a  marshal  of  [•"ranee,  the  other  the 
keeper  of  the  seals — who  had  sImwu  themscKes  his  most  bitter 
enemies,  ijcfore  punishing  them,  howe\er,  Richelieu  sought  to 
abate  or  ])ut  an  end  to  the  ho-^iiliiy  ot  his  j)o\\erful  foes,  and  o\  i-r- 
whelmed   with   faxors  and  preimi.ies  the  friends  of  Gaston  of  (Jr- 


188  FRANCE 

1631-1632 

leans,  whose  favor  lie  tlms  sought  to  gain.  But,  urged  on  l)y  the 
two  queens,  Gaston  visited  the  minister  at  the  head  of  a  crowd 
of  gentlemen,  insulted  him,  and  threatened  him  with  the  full  weight 
of  his  vengeance.  After  this  the  prince  retired  to  his  appanage  of 
Orleans  and  began  to  levy  troops,  but  at  the  approach  of  the  royal 
army  he  fled,  without  offering  an}^  resistance,  and  passed  into  Lor- 
raine. It  was  not  yet  enough.  So  long  as  the  queen-mother  re- 
mained at  the  court  Richelieu  could  never  be  sure  of  the  morrow. 
Perceiving  that  he  was  sufliciently  strong  to  make  a  daring  stroke, 
he  told  the  king  that  he  must  choose  between  his  mother  and  him- 
self. The  king,  cold  of  heart  and  feeble  in  mind,  did  not  hesitate. 
Blinded  with  rage,  the  queen-mother  withdrew  into  Spanish  Flan- 
ders, in  1 63 1,  and  never  again  reentered  France. 

Richelieu  adopted  the  most  vigorous  measures.  All  those  who 
had  hesitated  between  his  party  and  that  of  the  queen-mother  were 
forced  to  quit  the  court  and  their  offices :  Marshal  de  Marillac  was 
tried  and  condemned  to  death ;  his  brother,  the  keeper  of  the  seals, 
died  in  prison.  The  cardinal's  vengence  was  still  further  signalized 
by  numerous  proscri]:)tions ;  many  of  the  nobles  were  condemned  to 
lose  their  estates  and  their  heads  for  having  joined  the  Duke  of 
Orleans  and  Marie  de'  Medici  in  foreign  countries. 

While  Richelieu  thus  executed  his  vengeance  the  queen-mother 
and  her  emigrant  son  continued  their  intrigues,  and  Gaston,  having 
Ijecome  a  widower,  secretly  married  Princess  Marguerite,  sister  of 
Duke  Charles  IV.  of  Lorraine.  Finally  he  entered  France  and  joined 
Marshal  Duke  of  Montmorency,  who  had  agreed  to  raise  Langue- 
doc,  of  which  he  was  governor,  in  favor  of  Gaston.  But  Richelieu 
anticipated  his  enemies,  and  the  Marshals  Force  and  Schomberg 
entered  Langucdoc  at  tlie  head  of  two  royal  armies  at  the  moment 
wdien  Gaston  was  effecting  his  junction  with  Montmorency.  Tlie 
hostile  troops  met  near  Castelnaudary  in  1632.  Montmorency  was 
surrounded,  captured,  and  carried  away  a  prisoner  under  the  very 
eyes  of  Gaston,  who  made  no  effort  to  rescue  him,  and  whose  whole 
army  immediately  disbanded  itself.  Richelieu  never  failed  to  regard 
Gaston  as  the  heir-presumptive  to  the  crown,  and  he  made  terms 
with  him  and  permitted  him  to  retire  to  Tours,  where  the  prince 
arrived  more  disgraced  by  his  cowardice  than  by  his  rebellion. 
Montmorency  was  condemned  to  death  and  executed,  a  crowd  of 
others  lost  their  heads  on  the  scaffold,  and  Gaston,  terrified  at  the 
cardinal's  rigor,  once  more  quitted  France.     The  king,  un  being 


IM I  I  U  T  V     Y  i:  A  R  S  '     W  A  II  189 

1632-1639 

informed  of  liis  I)rotlicr's  marriage,  refused  td  saneti^iii  ii,  and  in- 
vaded l.orraine  with  a  demand  iliat  Ciiarles  IV.  should  -ive  In- 
sister  into  his  hands.  'I'hc  laller,  however,  escaped  and  j-ined  her 
husband  at  Brussels.  In  1632  the  whole  of  Lorraine  was  o\  (.iiup. 
and  Nancy  fell  into  the  liands  of  the  I'rcnch.  'Die  u!if' >!tunaie 
Duke  Cdiarles  abdicau'il  in  favor  ,,\  Cardinal  .\'ico!a->  hVanc;-.  hi- 
brother,  who  hastened,  without  con^uUiuL;-  Koine,  t')  lav  a-ide  tin- 
hat,  and  to  marry  his  cousin  Claude.  Soon  afterwa.rds  he  reiiied 
from  Lorraine  with  his  wife,  abandi  inini;-  his  sl;ae.^  to  the  l-"rench 
king-,  who  everywhere  established  i^arrix  uis,  ])endinL,'-  the  surren(ler 
of  the  Princess  Mar^aierite.  While  Loui^  Xlll.  tluis  endea\Mrr'l 
to  annul  this  a]li;uice  by  force  the  I'arlement  of  j'aris.  to  whum 
he  had  referred  tlie  maticr.  declared  Ca-t^n's  Uiarriaq-e  vi'i<l.  while 
Richelieu  endeavored,  but  in  \ain.  to  obtain  from  the  ])r!ik'e.  who 
had  returned  to  the  i'"rep.ch  court,  an  a\'ow;'.l  that  his  marriage 
was  illeg'al.  This  Gaston  absiluiely  refused  to  do.  jiui  an  ewiit 
occurred  three  years  afterwards  which  reduced  b.im  to  a  ^c-i'udarv 
position.  A  reconciliation  liad  tal;en  p'ace  between  Louis  Xlll. 
and  the  queen,  who  had  long'  lix'cd  a]).-irt  from  him,  ,and  "W  Srp 
tember  5.  1(^)3^.  Anne  ci"a\-e  birtli  1i>  a  son.  who  became  Loui-  Xl\'. 

At  the  ]:)erir)d  when  the  reins  of  ,u"o\crnment  passed  thus  to 
a  kint^  in  a  jjcrpetual  state  of  pu]i:Iai;e,  from  Ciuicini  to  1  )c  Luyne-. 
and  from  the  latter  to  Richelieu,  in  whose  hands  thev  remainc'l 
!2;'reat  events,  in  which  I'rauce  Ik'u!  n.ot  as  yet  interfered,  were  tak^ 
inp^  place  in  Germany.  The  bimjK'rur  Matthia.s.  ha\iia^-  no  children. 
had  chosen  as  his  successi.ir  his  C' 'usin  g-erman.  hT'rdir.and  n\  '>lyy'\:\, 
grandson  of  l-'erdinand  1.,  bri'thei'  of  Charles  \^..  and  luid  liad  him 
elected  King  of  I'ohemia  in  hi-  lifetime.  This  prince  attempts! 
to  depri\-e  the  Protestant  I'.oliemians  of  liberty  of  conscience,  for 
which  they  took  up  arms  against  him. 

In  the  meantime  Mattliia-  died,  ai^l  h'erdinand,  besieged  in 
Vienna  by  the  victori' -us  Pxihemians.  could  ha.rdly  keej)  p.  -scs-i' ^n 
of  the  crown.  The  diet  >^i  the  empire.  li"\ve\ei".  elected  h'erdinan'l, 
who  was  proclaimed  em]:er>ir  at  h'rankfi  ^rt,  on  August  jS. 
1619.  On  this  the  iJoiieniian  >;aies  ottered  their  criiwn  to  t'.K- 
idector  I'alatine,  l-'redeiTT'  \'..  -  'U  indaw  of  J:nne^  1.  <>\  hinglan.'.. 
and  nei)hew  of  the  stadtholder  <^i  I  lolland.  bVederick,  in  a  l.)Ioody 
battle  fought  oil  the  White  Mountain,  near  rrague.  Icsi  ui  it  onI_\-  ';i,- 
new  crown,  but  als(,)  his  hereiliiary  .-i;!tes.  Lmbi  ildened  by  tln- 
su.ccess,  the  emperor  carried  war  into  i!ie  Palatine,  ;Mid  tlr.  e:iLeiied 


190  FRANCE 

1625-1639 

to  extripate  Protestantism  throughout  the  whole  of  Germany.  To 
save  its  Hberties,  the  Lower  Saxon  Circle,  in  1625,  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Christian  IV.,  King  of  Denmark  and  Duke  of  Holstein,  pre- 
pared to  resist  the  imperial  armies.  Then  commenced  the  second 
period  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  called  the  Danish  period.  It  was 
no  less  fatal  than  the  first  to  the  Protestant  cause,  for  Christian, 
vanquished  by  the  celebrated  imperial  generals,  Tilly  and  Wallen- 
stein,  was  compelled  to  sign  the  humiliating  Peace  of  Lubeck  in 
1629.  The  whole  of  Protestant  Germany  was  under  the  yoke,  and 
the  cause  of  liberty  of  conscience  seemed  in  desperate  straits.  Then, 
in  1630,  assembled  the  imperial  Diet  of  Ratisbon  to  discuss  the 
great  questions  which  for  twenty  years  had  agitated  the  German 
empire.  Now  there  came  a  check  to  the  fortunes  of  the  House  of 
Austria.  The  Catholic  electors,  alarmed  at  the  growing  power  of 
Wallenstein,  demanded  his  dismissal.  It  was  at  Ratisbon,  also, 
that  was  regulated  the  succession  of  Mantua,  which  the  emperor 
had  pretended  to  dispose  of  as  an  imperial  fief.  This  was  the  second 
step  which  France  took  in  its  interference  with  the  affairs  of  the 
empire;  the  first  being  the  occupation  of  the  Valtelline. 

Richelieu  saw  with  disquiet  the  progress  ot  the  House  of  Aus- 
tria, but  the  time  was  not  yet  come  for  France  openly  to  interfere. 
He  contented  himself  with  promising  as  a  subsidy  1,200,000  livres 
a  year  to  the  young  King  of  Sweden,  Gustavus  Adolphus,  towards 
whom  the  eyes  of  all  Protestant  Europe  were  now  turned.  Vic- 
torious at  Leipsic  in  1631,  and  again  at  the  passage  of  the  Lech, 
where  Tilly  lost  his  life,  he  prepared  to  strike  a  final  blow  by  attack- 
ing Ferdinand  in  his  capital.  The  emperor,  in  terror,  then  recalled 
Wallenstein,  whom  he  had  disgraced,  and  the  two  rivals  encountered 
each  other  at  Liitzen  in  1632.  Gustavus  was  the  victor,  but  died 
on  the  field  of  battle,  leaving  the  command  to  Duke  Bernard  of 
Saxe- Weimar.  The  latter,  however,  after  great  successes,  lost,  in 
1634,  the  decisive  battle  of  Nordlingen  against  the  Archduke 
Ferdinand,  the  emperor's  eldest  son.  The  conquests  of  Gustavus 
Adolphus  were  nullified  and  the  House  of  Austria,  which  had  been 
kept  in  check  by  the  successes  alike  of  the  great  Swedish  king  and 
of  the  hero  of  Weimar,  began  to  raise  its  head  anew.  The  emperor, 
Ferdinand  II.,  pursued  the  war  with  untiring  energy  and  persever- 
ance. He  was  now  relieved  from  his  chief  opponents,  and  became 
once  more  all-powerful.  Here  ends  the  Swedish  period  of  the 
Thirty  Years'  War  and  commences  the  fourth  and  last  epoch,  to 


T  II  I  R  T  Y     V  K  A  R  S  '     W  A  R  191 

1634-1639 

which  has  l)ecn  q-iven  the  name  of  the  iM-eiich  jieriod.  Uichcheu 
made  the  greatest  ctYdrts  to  secure  the  success  nf  his  mihtary  plans. 
He  formed  an  offensive  and  defensive  aUiance  with  llollan<l  and 
Sweden,  and  sio-uc(h  at  the  same  time,  fresh  treaties  with  the  Dukes 
of  Savoy.  Mantua,  and  I'arma.  aiudu^-  wlium  lie  |)ronii>c<l  to  ih\  ide 
the  Milanese  teiritory.  Ili'^  j)lans  fnr  war  emhract'(l  at  once 
Flanders,  the  Rhine,  tlie  X'ahelhuc.  and  Italy,  and  lie  fanned  f"ur 
arnn'es.  intended  to  act  siinultaneou^ly  ou  all  those  jjoints.  I'.ehcviuL,^ 
himself  to  be  as  great  a  general  as  he  was  a  statesman,  the  cardinal 
resolved  to  direct  from  his  cabinet  all  the  moxements  of  the  armies 
in  the  field.  The  army  of  the  north,  under  Marshal-^  C'liatilJon  and 
Breze,  was  to  join  in  Luxembourg  that  of  the  i'^slates-deneral  of 
Holland,  for  the  purpose  of  driving  out  of  Belgium  the  Si)aniards, 
commanded  by  Prince  Thomas  of  Carignan.  This  prince  was  de- 
feated in  the  plain  of  Avenues  by  the  I'rench,  who  effected  their 
junction  with  the  Dutch,  commanded  by  the  Prince  of  Oi'ange, 
before  Maestricht.  The  united  .armv  ga\e  itself  up  to  the  most 
frightful  excesses.  1die  sack  of  Tirlennmt  roused  the  r.elgians 
against  the  French.  They  ran  to  .arms,  and  thus  ga\e  time  for  the 
arrival  of  the  imperial  armv.  under  Piccolouiini.  who  forced  the 
invaders  to  raise  the  siege  of  Lousain  and  remain  in  a  state  of  in- 
action till  the  end  of  the  camj)aign.  The  iM-anco-Swedish  army  of 
(lermany  divided  into  several  corps,  under  the  command  of  Mar- 
shal Force  and  ]  )uke  r>ernard  of  Sa\e-\\'eimai\  wa--  opposed 
to  the  imperial  troops  led  by  Duke  C'harlcs  of  Lorraine  and  the 
celebrated  (iallas.  who  blockaded  a  porti<»n  «^f  IJernard's  army  in 
ALayence  and  held  that  general  himself  in  check  at  Sarrehnick.  Duke 
Bernard  was  relie\ed  by  a  second  hrench  army,  which  was  obliged 
through  famine  and  disease  to  fall  back  on  Metz.  A  third  torce 
under  the  king  occupied  Lorraine,  and  tliis  and  what  remained  of 
the  other  two  armies,  acting  u])on  the  frontier  of  the  Rhine,  covered 
Champagne  and  Lorraine,  now  thiealeneil  by  the  imj)erialists.  In 
Italy  the  French  army,  under  the  command  of  Marsh  C"rc(iui. 
having  failed  in  its  attack  on  I'rascorolo.  had  been  compelled  to  raise 
the  siege  of  Valan/.a.  and  C"re(|ui  retreated  towards  l'"rance,  abandon- 
ing the  allies  of  h'nmce.  the  Dukes  of  .Savoy.  Parma,  and  Mantua, 
whose  states  were  immediately  invaded.  The  I'rench  arms  were 
only  sucessful  in  the  Valtelliue.  where  tlie  Duke  of  Rolian  suc- 
ceeded in  cutting  off  all  communication  between  the  imperial  troops 
of  Lombardy  and  Austria.     Victorious  at  Morbeguo.  he  repulsed 


192  FRANCE 

1635-1639 

Ferramont  in  the  Tyrol,  and  then  drove  Serbelloni  and  the  Span- 
iards from  the  Valtelhnc,  after  the  glorious  battle  of  the  Val  de 
Presle.  At  this  point  only  was  the  campaign  of  1635  honorable 
for  France. 

Richelieu  entered  upon  the  following  campaign  with  as  many 
armies  as  he  had  in  the  preceding  one,  and  suffered  great  reverses. 
In  1636  the  imperialist  generals,  the  cardinal-infant,  brother  of  the 
King  of  Spain,  I'iccolomini,  and  John  der  Werth,  a  Bavarian,  en- 
tered France  at  the  head  of  forty  thousand  men.  The  line  of  the 
Somme  was  forced;  Corbie,  the  last  strong  place  on  this  frontier, 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  imperialists,  while  a  second  army,  under 
Gallas  and  the  Duke  of  Lorraine,  entered  Burgundy.  Terror 
reigned  in  Paris,  and  the  popular  fury  was  directed  against  the 
cardinal,  who  was  accused  of  all  the  ills  of  France.  But  the  latter, 
superior  to  fear,  called  to  arms  the  nobility  and  the  various  trading 
bodies  for  the  defense  of  the  kingdom,  and  at  the  end  of  a  month 
an  army  of  forty  thousand  men  marched  to  drive  the  enemy  from 
France.  The  imperial  generals  did  not  await  the  onslaught,  but 
hastened  to  recross  the  frontier.  All  the  fortresses  of  Picardy  were 
retaken  by  the  French,  the  progress  of  the  invasion  in  Burgundy 
was  checked,  the  Spaniards  who  attempted  an  invasion  of  the 
southern  provinces  were  beaten  back,  and  French  soil  was  delivered 
from  foreign  invaders.  In  Italy  a  bloody  victory  obtained  by 
Marshal  Crequi  and  the  Duke  of  Savoy  over  the  imperialists  near 
Lake  jMaggiore  had  no  result. 

The  following  year,  1637,  was  distinguished  by  the  death  of 
several  of  the  sovereigns  engaged  in  the  war.  The  Emperor  Ferdi- 
nand II.  died  after  having  had  the  King  of  Flungary,  his  son,  elected 
as  his  successor,  and  France  lost  its  two  Italian  allies,  the  Dukes 
of  Mantua  and  Savoy.  The  only  important  military  fact  of  this 
campaign  was  the  evacuation  by  the  Duke  of  Rohan  of  the  Valtel- 
line,  whence  he  was  driven' by  the  old  allies  of  France,  the  Grisons, 
who  had  now  turned  against  her. 

The  war  was  continued  in  1638  with  results  unfavorable  to 
France.  In  the  north  it  was  found  necessary  to  raise  the  siege  of 
Saint-Omer,  and  on  the  Spanish  frontier  the  French  were  forced 
to  abandon  the  siege  of  Fontarabia.  The  victory  obtained  on  the 
Rhine  by  Duke  Bernard  of  Saxe-Weimar  alone  compensated  for 
so  many  disasters.  Compelled  by  John  of  Werth  to  raise  the  siege 
of  Rhinefeld,  he  suddenly  reappeared,  cut  the  imperialists  to  pieces. 


TiriKTV     YEARS'     WAR  l');J 

1639-1640 

and  took  Joliii  i>f  Worth  and  lliive  other  i^vncrals  ])risMncrs.  In  \\\c 
year  h/llo\vin,<;-  ilii,^  ahic  -cneral  died,  antl  tlic  C'Unni.-md  «  f  In- 
army  was  ,q;i\cn  to  the  Duke  of  Lon.^nieville.  who  carneil  t»n  ti.c 
campaign  during-  two  years  heynnd  the  Rhine  without  any  (Kcided 
success,  and  at  tlie  same  time  without  any  (hsgrace.  In  i'',v;  tlie 
success  on  the  side  of  the  k'rcnch  was  conlined  to  the  cai)tr,re  of 
Ilesthn,  wdiile  1 'ii'Culi  .mini  \-an(iuished,  near  Tln'onville.  another 
I"^-ench  army  under  l-"eu(|uicrcs.  Thus  end.c<l  in  tlie  nortli  t!ie  cam- 
paign of  K^SQ.  In  rie(h-noiit.  where  C'arch'nal  Mam-ice  and  Th.^ma^. 
IVince  of  Carignan.  hmtliers  of  the  late  (hike,  with  the  support  .if 
the  King  of  Spain,  (hs])uted  the  regencv  with  his  widnw.  Chri-^tine. 
daughter  of  Hem-y  1\'.,  Henry  of  Lorraine,  ("■■unt  of  Harcouri. 
victualled  Casal,  then  besieged  by  Spaniards.  He  elTected  in  a.dmir- 
.able  order  a  dithcult  retreat  from  Chiari  to  Carignan,  in  tiie  pres- 
ence of  the  much  l;;rgcr  armies  of  Spain  in  riednniiu.  and  was 
victori(jus  at  the  1)attle  of  La  KfMta. 

The  principal  belligerent  powers,  I'^-ance,  the  cmjiire.  and 
Spain,  reaped  no  fruits  froni  tin's  disastrous  war.  The  two  king- 
dt)ms  were  exliausted,  and  in  each  there  occurred  simultane^  u.dy 
a  popular  outbreak,  wdn'ch  led  to  \erv  ditYerent  results.  1  )uring 
the  last  years  the  taxes  in  France  had  been  raided  to  a  hundred  mil- 
lions, wdiich  was  cUnible  the  amount  le\  ied  in  the  time  of  I  lenry  1\'. 
The  burden  of  taxati(jn  h:id  become  intolerable.  The  poi!  tax. 
esjiecially,  was  levded  upon  the  ])easants  with,  frighlfid  rigor.  Alter 
])aying  for  themscKes.  those  who  ^\■ere  hotter  off  than  their  neigh- 
bcjrs  were  forced  to  pay  the  ta.xes  of  those  who  were  unable  to 
do  so.  At  last,  driven  to  despair,  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  lower 
Normandy  took  up  arms  and  entrenched  thlem-^el\es  on  the  ^:ope^ 
of  A\-ranches.      i-'oreign   troiips.   under  Colonel   (ias-^iou,   du'owned 

this   insurrection    in   the  b! 1   of   the   insm'gents.      The   ]iai-kiiv.;!t 

of  Mormandv  was  suspended,  .all  franchises  su])pressed.  ;tnd  an 
enormous  sum  le\ied  on  t":e  city  of  Rouen.  The  re\olts  in  .'^pain 
were  more  serious.  Catalonia,  with  its  annexed  districts  of  Ro!'--d 
Ion  and  Cerdagne.  formed  a  pro\ince  almost  independent  oi  tlie 
Spanish  monarch}'.  Treatcil  harshly  by  C)!i\are/,  the  Catalans  rose 
in  insurrectiiiii,  in  i'''40.  and  ga\e  themseb.'es  to  the  crown  of 
b^rance.  The  I'ortuguese  also,  ensla\ed  by  Spain  for  sixty  yeai's. 
threw  off  the  detested  yoke.  John  of  R>rag,an7a,  descendent  of  liu'ii- 
ancient  monarch.^.  \\'as  elected  king,  and  he  hastened  to  ally  hini:^e:f 
with  IT-ance  and  Holland  against  Spain. 


194  FRANCE 

1640-1642 

The  war  continued  in  Germany,  but  the  two  principal  scenes 
of  mihtary  operations,  in  1640,  were  Artois  and  Piedmont.  A 
numerous  army  assembled  in  Picardy  under  the  three  marshals,  La 
Meilleraye,  Chatillon,  and  Chaulnes,  entered  Artois  and  invested 
Arras,  which  capitulated,  after  the  cardinal-infant  had  made  fruit- 
less attempts  to  force  the  French  lines  and  to  drive  back  the  be- 
sieging forces.  The  campaign  of  Piedmont  was  still  more  glorious  to 
the  French  arms.  The  Count  of  Harcourt  forced  the  Spaniards  and 
Piedmontese  to  raise  the  siege  of  Casale,  and  then,  advancing  rapidly 
and  boldly  upon  Turin,  he  invested  it.  An  attempt  to  relieve  the 
city  ended  in  the  defeat  of  the  Spanish  General  Leganez  and  the 
capitulation  of  Prince  Thomas  of  Carignan.  In  the  campaign  of 
1641  France  retained  the  advantages  acquired  during  the  preceding 
one  in  Artois  and  in  Piedmont.  Guebriant,  the  colleague  of  the 
Duke  of  Longueville,  vanquished  Piccolomini  at  Wolfenbiittel  and 
Lamboi  at  Kempen,  and  all  Saxony  was  reduced  to  subjection. 
In  1642  Richelieu  resolved  to  strike  at  the  very  heart  of  Austria's 
power.  The  invasion  of  Spain  was  decided  on  and  the  royal  army 
poured  towards  the  Pyrenees.  Before  crossing  the  mountains,  how- 
ever, it  was  important  to  complete  tlie  conquest  of  Roussillon,  and 
Perpignan  was  besieged. 

Spain  exhausted  herself  in  her  endeavors  to  save  this  place,  but 
she  was  vanquished  both  by  land  and  sea,  and  after  an  heroic  re- 
sistance of  four  months  the  governor  capitulated  on  Septem- 
ber 9,  1642.  The  battle  of  Lerida,  in  the  same  year,  in  which 
the  Spanish  General  Leganez  was  beaten  by  Lamothe-Houdancourt, 
completed  the  conquest  of  Roussillon,  which  henceforth  formed  a 
portion  of  the  kingdom  of  France.  Louis  XIII.  and  his  minister 
survived  the  victory  but  a  short  time. 

During  the  campaign  of  Roussillon  a  final  and  bloody  catas- 
trophe raised  Richelieu's  power  and  the  terror  inspired  by  his  name 
to  their  greatest  height.  The  cardinal  had  placed  near  the  king 
the  young  Effiat,  Marquis  of  Cinq-Mars,  twenty-one  years  of  age. 
This  young  man,  appointed  master  of  the  horse,  made  rapid  progress 
in  the  good  graces  of  the  sovereign,  and,  discovering  the  king's 
antipathy  for  the  cardinal,  conceived  the  hope  of  overthrowing 
him.  With  this  object  he  allied  himself  with  the  queen,  with  Gaston 
of  Orleans,  and  the  Duke  of  Bouillon,  who  always  flattered  himself 
that  he  should  one  day  replace  Richelieu.  The  cardinal  allowed 
the  imprudent  Cinq-AIars  and  his  accomplices  to  implicate  them- 


THIRTY     YEARS'     WAR  195 

1642-1643 

selves  with  the  Spanish  minister  Ohvarez.  He  became  possesscl 
at  length  of  the  copy  of  a  treaty  of  alliance  between  the  Spaniards 
and  the  conspirators  and  sent  it  to  Lonis.  Cinci-Mars  was  imnie<li- 
ately  seized,  together  with  the  young  De  Thou,  his  friend  and  c^uiti- 
dant,  but  not  his  accomplice.  A  commission  was  o])cned  to  try 
them.  The  crime  (tf  Cincj-Mars  was  not  proved,  hut  the  cowardly 
confessions  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans  destroyed  him.  CiiKi-Mars 
was  condemned  to  death  and  executed  (  164 j)  with  the  young  De 
Thou,  who  was  guilty  of  not  having  denounced  his  friend.  The 
Duke  of  Bouillon,  who  had  been  arrested,  lost  his  principalitv,  but 
obtained  his  pardon  in  exchange.  Gaston  of  Orleans  obtained  per- 
mission to  live  at  l^lois  in  privacv. 

The  queen-mother  died  in  indigence  at  Cologne,  and  Richelieu 
followed  her  shortly  afterwards  to  the  tomb  (  K'qj).  His  eves  had 
scarcely  been  closed  when  the  king  at  once  abandoned  the  course 
pursued  by  the  cardinal.  The  prisons  were  thrnwn  open  and  ban- 
ishments ceased.  Vendoinc.  l'dl)(cuf.  I'ass' >nipicrre,  ruid  Ciuise  re- 
appeared at  court,  and  preluded  by  empty  (piarrels  the  stonn>  which 
were  to  disturb  the  reign  about  to  commence.  Lmn's  XII 1..  in  fact, 
only  survived  his  famous  minister  six  months,  and  died  ai  Clialeau- 
Neuf,  Saint  Germain,  in  i''»4,v  at  fort}-two  }ear>  of  age.  \  few 
days  before  expiring  he  had  nominated  .Aime  of  Austria  regent, 
and  Gaston,  his  brother,  lieutenant-general  of  the  kingdnni.  joining 
with  them  a  council  of  regency,  under  the  presidency  of  Conde. 

The  results  of  Richelieu's  life,  wherein  he  stands  for  the 
judgment  of  posterity,  are  chiefly  these:  abroad,  though  a  cardinal 
of  the  church,  he  arrested  the  Catholic  reaclinn,  freed  northern 
from  southern  Europe,  and  made  tcleration  possible:  at  home,  out 
of  the  broken  fragments  of  her  liberties  and  her  national  pros- 
perity, he  paved  the  way  for  the  glory  of  iMance.  Those  who 
worship  strength  and  success  will  admire  a  man  who,  moving  on 
his  high  course  with  resolute  step,  seems  uiiconseions  of  human 
infirmities,  of  I^ity.  of  humanity.  \'et  if  we  count  the  love  of  our 
fellow-man  as  the  first  (|uality  of  a  great  character,  or  think  that 
land  happiest  in  which  the  liberties  of  the  subject  are  steadily  and 
surely  built  up  from  age  to  age,  then  we  shall  condemn  the  strong 
man  armed,  who  ga\e  no  thonght  to  his  ojijire-^sed  and  laboring 
countr}-men,  .and  m;ide  constitutional  life  impossible  lor  l^'rance. 
If  mav  well  be  that  this  diil  not  i)re<ent  itself  to  Richelieu's  mind: 
he  probably  never  told  himself  that  his  jjolicy  was  based  on   the 


196  F  R  A  N  C:  E 

1642-1643 

ruin  of  the  French  Hberties.  The  troubles  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, and  the  pecuHar  aptitudes  of  the  French  people,  may  even 
have  led  him  to  believe  it  impossible  to  do  otherwise  than  as  he 
did.  Yet,  as  we  watch  his  career,  we  see  one  after  another  tlie 
elements  of  constitutional  life  disappearing:  the  law  courts  or  parlc- 
ments  resist  in  vain,  and  are  reduced  to  impotence ;  the  church 
becomes  subservient;  the  Huguenot  cities,  which  might  have  formed 
the  nucleus  of  a  living  public  opinion,  are  crushed  into  silence;  the 
independence  of  the  noble  goes;  the  Estates-General  are  not  con- 
voked; the  imposts  are  levied  at  the  king's  pleasure;  the  people 
overwhelmed  with  taxes  and  rewarded  with  ricgiect.  It  may  be 
that  Richelieu  did  but  carry  out  tendencies  long  rooted  in  French 
soil,  did  but  push  one  step  farther  that  absolute  and  irresponsible 
monarchy  which  had  already  been  seen  and  approved  by  France 
under  Francis  T.  and  Henry  IV.  It  may  be  s(j ;  yet  to  have  sys- 
tematized absolutism,  to  have  formulated  the  terrible  dogma  that 
taxation  is  the  affair  of  the  king  alone,  and  depends  solely  on  his 
will,  to  have  trampled  out  the  last  fires  of  French  liljcrty,  to  have 
given  a  final  form  to  that  despotism  which  for  a  hundred  and  fifty 
years  had  France  at  its  feet,  can  never  be  called  the  work  of  a  true 
patriot  or  of  a  great  statesman. 

And,  indeed,  Richelieu  was  a  politician  rather  than  a  states- 
man; his  mind,  singularly  acute  and  intelligent,  was  neither  deep 
nor  broad ;  ambiticjn  for  his  country,  a  desire  to  raise  her  among 
the  nations,  a  consciousness  that  unity  would  bring  her  strength, 
these  were  the  ideas  which  ennobled  his  career.  These  give  har- 
mony to  his  life:  his  marvellous  tenacity  of  purpose,  liis  patience, 
fearlessness,  slceplesseness  in  use  of  any  means  to  win  his  ends. 
All  these  qualities  were  bent  on  one  object — the  abasemerit  of 
Austria,  the  exaltation  of  France.  For  this  he  lived,  defending 
with  one  hand  his  hard-won  and  precarious  footing  at  home,  while 
with  the  other  hand  he  guided  negotiations  or  led  armies  abroarl 
against  the  strong  foes  who  in  1628  had  seemed  to  be  almost 
absolute  masters  of  Europe. 


PART  III 

ABSOLUTE   MONARCHY.     1643-1774 


Chapter    XII 

LOUIS    XIV.    AM)    Tin:    SUPRKMAC^'    OF    FRANCE 
IN    FUROPK.     104.5-108.^ 

IMMKDTATFJ.Y  after  llic  death  of  Lmiis  XII I.  Anne  of  Aus- 
tria apjjlicd  to  tlie  Farlenicnt  of  Paris  to  dissolve  the  council 
of  rcg-ency.  Her  re(juest  was  _o-ranted,  and  she  was  rec(\L;'nized 
as  abscjlute  res^ent  and  acknowledged  to  be  at  liberty  to  compose 
her  council  as  slie  chose. 

Cardinal  Alazarin,  who  was  a  member  of  tlie  council  of  regency, 
was  of  opinion  that  it  ought  to  be  dissolved.  The  (|ueen  rewarded 
bis  devotion  by  making  him  her  lirst  minister,  and  bestowed  all 
her  confidence  on  him.  I'rance  now  enjoved  peace,  as  far  as  do- 
mestic affairs  were  ccnicerned,  for  three  years.  Th.e  war  with  the 
empire  and  Spain  continued,  however,  on  all  her  frontiers.  Fouis  of 
Bourbon.  Duke  of  luigliien,  so  celebrated  under  the  name  of  the 
great  Conde,  had  gained  in  l^anders.  fwc  days  after  the  death  of 
Louis  XTIL  (1643),  the  battle  of  Kt^croi,  over  the  Spaniards.  The 
important  ca])ture  of  Thion\ille  was  quicklv  folloued  bv  the  defeat 
of  the  F'rench  under  the  Count  of  Rant/.au.  at  Tuttliugen,  by  the 
Duke  of  Lorraine  and  tlie  two  illustrious  generals.  John  of  W'erth 
and  jMercy.  Ijrilliant  successes,  howexer,  atoned  for  this  rewrse. 
Juighein,  with  Turenne  under  his  orders,  \-au(|uished  Mere}'  at 
l'^"eil)urg.  In  the  following  year  he  marched  to  the  assistance  of 
Turenne,  who  had  been  surprised  and  l)eaten  at  Marientlial,  and 
gained  the  battle  of  .\("ii-dlingen  (i(')4.4).  The  death  of  Mercy 
decided  the  \ict()rv.  In  I'T'inders  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  the  king's 
uncle,  aided  by  Marslial  Cas-ion,  had  seized  Graveliues  and 
Courtray  and  taken  Marditk  in  tlie  presence  of  an  enemy's  army. 
On  the  sea,  also,  the  b'rench  arms  had  been  successful.  Twenty 
of  their  galle}S  had  \-an(|uislied,  in  \(<.\().  the  Sjiam'sh  lleet  on  the 
coast  of  Italy,  and  in  the  same  \ear  the  Duke  of  iMighien,  as.sisted 
by  the  celebrated  \''an  Troni]).  die  I  )utch  admiral,  gave  Dunkirk  to 
France.  He  then  set  sail  for  Spain,  where  he  met  with  a  repulse 
before  Lerida,  the  siege  of  which  he  was  forced  t(j  raise. 

19!) 


200  FRANCE 

1647-1648 

The  years  1647  ^^'^^^  1648  were  fatal  to  the  House  of  Austria. 
Turenne,  with  the  assistance  of  the  Swedes,  gained  the  battle  of 
Sommerhausen ;  General  Wrangel  took  Little  Prague,  and  the 
battle  of  Lens  terminated  the  war.  This  battle  was  fought  by  the 
Duke  of  Enghien,  now  Prince  of  Conde,  in  1648,  against  the  Arch- 
duke Leopold,  the  emperor's  brother.  Broken  down  by  so  many 
reverses,  Ferdinand  IIL  consented  to  negotiate,  and  peace  was 
at  length  signed,  in  1648,  at  jMiinster  in  Westphalia.  By  this  peace 
it  was  agreed  that  France  should  retain  a  great  part  of  Alsace,  the 
three  bishoprics  of  Metz,  Toul  and  Verdun,  and  the  two  fortresses  of 
Philipsburg  and  Pignerol,  the  keys  of  Germany  and  Piedmont. 
The  Peace  of  Westphalia  put  an  end  to  the  Thirty  Years'  War  in 
Germany,  but  Spain  refused  to  accede  to  it,  and  the  war  continued 
between  that  country  and  France. 

At  the  time  when  the  cele1)rated  peace  was  signed  the  interior 
of  the  kingdom  was  much  disturbed.  Mazarin,  having  become  all- 
powerful,  had  roused  against  himself  an  almost  universal  hatred  and 
indignation.  Ridiculous  by  his  accent  and  his  manners  and  odious 
as  a  stranger,  he  was  the  object  of  numerous  cabals.  He  wished, 
in  common  with  Richelieu,  that  the  royal  power  should  be  absolute, 
and  his  despotism  excited  as  much  hatred  as  did  that  of  his  predeces- 
sor. In  addition  to  other  arbitrary  acts  Mazarin  desired  to  keep 
back  four  years'  salaries  from  the  members  of  all  the  sovereign 
courts,  with  the  exception  of  the  Parlement  of  Paris,  and  he  threat- 
ened to  abolish  the  law  which  secured  to  the  families  of  magistrates 
the  possession  of  their  offices  in  perpetuity.  This  arbitrary  proceed- 
ing aroused  a  universal  clamor,  and  the  Parlement  assembled  and 
passed  the  celebrated  Edict  of  Union,  in  accordance  with  which  two 
councilors  chosen  from  each  of  its  chambers  were  to  confer  with 
deputies  from  the  other  bodies  in  the  common  interest  of  all. 
Mazarin  declared  that  such  a  decree  was  an  attack  on  the  rights  of 
the  crown,  and  Anne  of  Austria  wislied  to  inflict  immediate  pun- 
ishment on  all  those  wlio  had  signed  it.  The  chamber  of  St.  Louis 
voted  twenty-seven  articles,  which  were  to  be  submitted  for  the 
approbation  of  the  Parlement  and  the  sanction  of  the  regent.  Of 
these,  some  secured  tlie  payment  of  their  bonds  on  the  Hotel  de 
Ville,  relieved  commerce  of  odious  monopolies,  and  reduced  by  one- 
fourth  the  fxlious  tax  of  the  taillc,  which  only  fell  on  the  humbler 
classes;  while  others  prohibited,  on  pain  of  death,  the  levying  of 
any  tax  sa\e  by  verified  edicts  sanctioned  by  the  sovereign  courts, 


LO  r  I  S      XIV  201 

1648 

and  declared  tliat  iv.nc  of  the  kin.i;'.-  Mihjcrts  >!--nld  I'c  n  tM-t-nlv 
more  than  twcnly-four  h.ours  withont  hcin^-  imcrrM-aie'l  ;ind 
brought  before  a  proper  ju(l.L;e.  The  propMsiti- iiis  of  the  ch,in!l)rr 
of  Saint  Louis  were  jiractically  tlic  bases  of  a  national  c<  i!i>tiiutiMp.. 
and  the  citizen  cl;isses  received  them  with  enthusiasm.  The  pe''»|)le 
saw  its  own  cause  in  that  ni  the  magistrates  wIk;  had  a(h>pted  them. 
and  the  Parlement  deliberated  xvv 'U  them  in  ^^pitc  of  (lie  prohibitii  .ii 
of  the  regent,  who  called  tliese  articles  so  manv  attempts  at  assassina- 
tion of  the  royal  authority.  The  coma,  the  army,  au'l  the  multitude 
were  now  divided  into  two  factions,  that  nf  the  Ma/arius  and  th;;t 
of  the  Frondeurs.  or  j)artisans  of  the  i'arlemenl.  Am^ng  th^s? 
who  were  the  most  eager  in  supporting  the  Parlement  was  the 
famous  Paul  of  Goudi.  coadjutor  of  the  Arch.bi-h.  .p  of  rari,;.  a.nd 
at  a  later  period  known  by  the  name  of  Cardinal  cf  Ret/,  an  able 
man,  who  was  especially  ambitious  of  being  at  the  head  of  a  ])art\-. 
His  magnificent  charities  IkuI  long  before  gained  him  the  hea.rt  of 
the  people.  At  the  commencement  of  the  [)olitical  distmTar.ces  he 
had  offered  his  su])i)()rt  to  the  regent,  who  h;id  the  imprudence  to 
despise  it,  and  he  immediately  ])assed  over  to  the  parliamemarv  siile. 
The  arrest  of  the  three  most  obr.oxions  meml)ers  of  the  Parle- 
ment, the  presidents,  Charton  a.nd  iilancmem'l.  and  the  councilor. 
Broussel,  was  carried  out  b\-  order  of  Anne  of  Austria  in  tlie  mal-t 
of  the  rejoicings  for  the  celebrated  \  ietory  of  C'oude  at  I.en^.  The 
first  escaped,  but  the  tv\o  others  wei"e  arrested.  'J'lie  fact  ^oon  be- 
came widely  known.  Tlie  people  ro<e,  bai'ricades  wee  erected,  the 
carriage  of  the  cardinal  was  ])ursued,  and  llie  soldiers  were  nns- 
sacred,  amidst  cries  of  "  r.rous>el  aiid  li])ertyl"  The  rarlenuait 
proceeded  in  a  body  to  the  Palais  Poyal,  energetically  repre-enie  1 
to  the  queen  the  danger  which  she  iiuan-red,  rmd.  snj)])oried  by 
Alazarin,  obtained  the  freedom  of  the  two  magistraites.  Ma/.arin 
saw  very  clearly  that  moderation  was  necessai'y.  a.nd.  guided  by  I'i-^ 
advice,  Anne  of  Austria  dis:-imu'ated.  and  sanctioned  on  Octo- 
ber 24,  16.^8,  in  a  celebrated  declaration,  the  greater  number  of 
the  articles  of  the  chruuber  of  Saint  bonis.  On  the  same  day  peace 
was  signed  with  the  empire  at  Miinster.  Sixiin  alone  remaine  1 
at  war  with  I'^rance.  A  certain  luimber  of  regiments  were  immedi- 
ately recalled  from  Idanders  to  ihe  enxirons  of  the  capital.  In 
consefpience  of  a  (|uarrel  with  the  nuke  of  OiU'ans  the  Prince  oi 
Conde  had  joined  the  jiarty  of  .Ma/arin.  whom  he  detested,  and 
promised  him  his  support,  and  Anne  of  Austria  now  believed  Iierse'f 


202  FRANCE 

1648-1650 

to  be  able  to  crush  her  enemies.  Accompanied  by  the  cardinal,  she 
suddenly  quitted  Paris  for  Saint  Germains,  where  she  denounced  the 
magistrates  of  the  Parlement  as  guilty  of  a  conspiracy  against 
the  royal  authority,  and  of  being  in  league  with  the  enemies  of  the 
state,  and  moved  troops  upon  the  capital.  The  Parlement,  on  its 
side,  raised  money  and  soldiers,  and  published  a  decree  which  de- 
clared Mazarin  to  be  a  disturber  of  the  public  peace  and  ordered  him 
to  quit  the  kingdom  within  eight  days.  This  was  the  commence- 
ment of  civil  war.  Conde  commanded  the  royal  army.  The  greater 
number  of  the  princes  and  greater  lords  of  the  kingdom,  as  Conti, 
Longueville,  Nemours,  Beaufort,  Elbceuf,  and  Bouillon,  embraced 
the  cause  of  the  magistracy.  Turenne  declared  himself  for  the 
Parlement  against  the  court,  but  after  having  endeavored,  without 
success,  to  raise  an  army  against  Anne  of  Austria,  he  fled  from 
France  and  joined  the  Spaniards.  A  first  compromise  took  place 
without  any  decisive  result  to  the  advantage  of  the  Parlement. 
The  cjueen  and  the  cardinal  having  reentered  Paris,  found  them- 
selves insulted  by  frightful  libels.  They  left  it  once  more,  with  the 
young  king,  and  determined  to  blockade  it  and  to  reduce  it  by  fam- 
ine. Conde  directed  the  military  operations  against  Paris,  and 
Mazarin  sent  to  the  Parlement  a  Icttre  dc  cachet  which  banished  it 
to  Montargis.  The  Parlement  replied  by  a  decree  which  declared 
Mazarin  an  enemy  to  the  king  and  the  state,  and  again  ordered  him 
to  quit  the  kingdom  within  eight  days.  Already,  however,  the 
Parisians  were  weary  of  war  and  hunger.  The  civil  troubles  proved 
advantageous  to  the  Spaniards,  who  were  in  league  with  the  Fronde, 
and  the  parties  made  peace  at  Ruel  on  March  ii,  1649,  which 
satisfied  no  one.  The  Parlement  remained  at  liberty  to  assemble 
and  the  queen  retained  her  minister. 

Conde,  presuming  on  his  great  services,  became  insupportable 
to  the  queen  in  his  pride  and  exaggerated  pretensions.  The  h^ron- 
deurs  vainly  sought  to  attachdiim  to  themselves.  He  despised  them, 
and  commenced  a  process  against  the  coadjutor,  the  Duke  of  Beau- 
fort, and  Broussel,  whom  he  accused  of  having  attempted  to  murder 
him.  Mazarin  effected  a  reconciliation  with  tlie  coadjutor,  and 
chose  the  moment  when  Conde  had  rendered  himself  as  hateful  to 
the  Fronde  as  himself  to  crush  him.  PTaving  been  enticed  to 
tlie  Palais  Royal  on  January  18,  1650.  under  the  pretense  of 
the  holding  of  a  council,  he  was  arrested  with  his  brother,  the  ih-ince 
Conti,  and  his  brother-in-law,  the  Duke  of  Longueville,  and  sent 


L  O  U  I  S     X  I  V  203 

1650-1652 

to  Havre.  The  Duchess  of  Lonii^nevillc  proceeded  to  Stenay.  to 
Turcnne.  w  Iidin  she  once  iiii  re  lauisfd  a,^•ai^st  tlie  court.  l'\\\>  L^reat 
man,  ahied  wilh  the  Spaniards,  was  healen  at  Ivctliel  hy  !)ii])!v,-s;>- 
Ih-aslin.  Tlie  youn,L;-  Princess  ot'  L"onde.  assisted  hy  t!ie  Duke-  ^<i 
Bouillon  and  koch.efoucauld.  eiucred  liordeaux,  which  site  induced 
to  revolt,  and  raised  tlie  wliole  pro\ince.  Ma/.arin  ))rocccded  tliither 
with  Anne  of  Austria  and  th^e  yun.^-  kini;.  Tlie  rchcliion  was  sup- 
pressed, hut  Ijortleaux  remained  attached  to  the  princes.  In  the 
cardinal's  ahsence  fresli  \>\n{<,  were  coiitrixed  a.^'ainst  him.  ami  when 
he  returned  to  I'aris  he  foinid  a  formidahle  league  readv  in  arms. 
The  people  received  Iiim  with  murm.urs.  The  Parlement,  at  the 
instillation  of  the  coa'ijuior.  demanded  the  freedom  of  the  cai)ti\e 
princes,  and  tlie  Duke  of  Orleans  demanded  the  I)anishment  oi 
Alazarin.  The  cardinal  hi/wed  hetTre  the  storm.  Quitting  Paris, 
he  proceeded  to  I  [a\re.  where  he  set  free  the  princes,  who  treated 
him  with  contemjit.  l!ani>hed  forever  by  the  Parlement.  he  sought 
refuge  wilh  the  hdector  of  Cologne,  at  Ihaihl,  whence  he  continued 
to  g"o\-ern  the  (|ueen  and  the  state.  'l"he  enemies  of  Mazarin  Soon 
ceased  to  he  frien.is  with  eat'h  (ilher.  C'omle  controlled  the  Parle- 
ment. and  offended  the  (|ueen  h\-  his  ])ride  and  suspicions.  He  re- 
j)roached  her  for  retaining  as  her  mini>ters  Le  Tellier.  Lyoune  and 
I'^ouquet,  creatures  of  the  cardinal,  and  demanded  their  dismissal. 
Anne  of  .Austria,  thoroughly  enraged,  sent  for  the  co;idjutor,  and 
entreated  him  in  th.e  most  urgent  manner  to  emplov  his  intluence 
in  favor  of  Mazarin  against  the  prince.  Gtnuli,  a  mortal  enemy  oi 
the  cardinal,  resisted  all  the  (lueen's  appeals  in  behalf  of  her  fa\-oi-ite, 
but  he  promised  to  remove  L'onde.  The  two  ri\'als  for  power  pre- 
sented themsehes  at  the  Parlement  on  .\ugust  Ji,  each  ac- 
comi)anied  In'  a  numei'ous  troop  ot  ai'me(l  j)artisans.  Th.reats 
were  exchanged,  thousands  of  swortls  and  daggers  were  drawn  in 
the  precincts  of  the  ])alace.  and  the  coatljutor  was  on  the  point  of 
being  assassinated.  The  Parlement  pronounced  in.  his  fa\-or,  .and 
Cc-tnde,  hnding  the  (jueen.  the  Proude  and  the  people  all  again>t  him, 
quitted  Paris  and  ])rocecded  to  (luieinie,  where,  in  concert  with 
Spain,  he  ])repared  for  war.  .\lmost  all  the  jjrovinces  beyond  the 
Loire,  (iuienne,  I'oitou,  Saintongue  and  Angoumojs,  dcclarcil  in 
liis  fa\-or.  Anne  of  .Xu.^tria  now  ouce  more  left  Paris,  in.  or.ler  to 
reduce  the  re\ohed  iii'o\  inces  to  i.hedience.  I  ia\'ing  reached  Ihaige-. 
she  dispatched  to  the  Parlement  an  edict,  which  declared  C'onde  a 
rebel  and  traitor  to  the  king  and  P'rance.  and  which  the  Parlement 


204  FRANCE 

1652-1653 

sanctioned.  At  this  juncture  (1652),  in  obedience  to  the  wishes 
of  Anne  of  Austria,  the  cardinal  returned  to  France  accompanied 
by  an  army  of  seven  or  eight  thousand  men,  whose  officers  wore 
his  colors,  and  who  were  commanded  by  Marshal  Hocquincourt. 
The  coadjutor  immediately  perceived  the  fault  which  he  had  com- 
mitted in  permitting  the  court  to  remove  from  Paris,  and  raised 
the  people  against  the  partisans  of  Mazarin  and  the  queen.  The 
Parlement  put  a  price  on  Mazarin's  head,  but  he  continued  his 
march  to  join  the  court  at  Poictiers,  and  the  king  received  him  with 
every  distinction.  Anne  of  Austria  eagerly  replaced  in  his  hands 
the  burden  of  public  affairs,  and  he  returned  to  be  more  powerful 
than  ever. 

Gaston  of  Orleans  again  declared  against  the  regent,  effected 
a  reconciliation  with  Conde,  then  in  Guienne,  and  joined  to  the 
troops  of  that  prince,  which  were  commanded  in  his  absence  by  the 
Duke  of  Nemours,  all  those  at  his  own  disposal. 

Nemours,  at  the  head  of  an  army  of  twelve  thousand  French, 
Germans  and  Spaniards,  marched  upon  Guienne,  in  1652,  which 
Conde  at  that  time  defended  against  Flarcourt,  while  Anne  of  Aus- 
tria, vvith  the  object  of  reentering  Paris,  approached  Orleans. 
Mademoiselle  of  IMontpensier,  however,  sent  by  Gaston  of  Orleans, 
her  father,  to  defend  this  place,  persuaded  the  citizens  to  close  the 
gates  of  the  city  against  the  king. 

The  royal  army,  under  the  command  of  Turenne,  who  had  come 
over  to  the  queen's  party,  and  Hocqumcourt,  ascended  the  Loire 
and  crossed  it  at  Gien,  in  the  environs  of  Bleneau,  almost  in  the 
face  of  the  rebels,  who  were  commanded  by  Nemours  and  Beaufort. 
Marshal  Plocquincourt,  contrary  to  the  advice  of  Turenne,  divided 
his  troops  among  several  villages  around  Bleneau  ( 1653).  Turenne 
took  up  his  f^uarters  and  entrenched  himself  at  Gien,  where  were 
the  court  and  the  king.  Suddenly,  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  a 
furious  attack  was  made  upon  the  royal  army,  the  villages  were  set 
on  fire,  and  five  of  Marshal-  Hocquincourt's  positions  were  carried 
in  succession.  This  was  done  by  Conde,  who  had  arrived  unex- 
pectedly and  assumed  the  command  of  the  rebels.  He  carried 
Bleneau  and  marched  upon  Gien,  but  Turenne  awaited  him  there 
so  skillfully  posted  that  Conde  found  his  progress  stopped.  Turenne 
had  torn  from  him  the  prize  of  his  victory,  and  had  saved  the  king 
and  army.  The  court  gained  Lens  and  established  itself  in  the  en- 
virons of  the  capital. 


L  ()  T^  T  S     X  T  V  1205 

1653 

Condc  followed  tlic  mval  armv.  and  braving;  llic  decree  (if  inc 
Parlenient  which  condemned  liini,  entered  the  city  witli  Ins  princi- 
pal  ofilcers,  Beaufort,  XeniMurs.  and  l,a  Rocliefoiicauld.  :\\v\  ])re^ 
pared  to  defend  it  against  the  kini,^  At  tlie  approacli.  h.iwcvcr. 
of  the  troops  of  Marshal  de  la  h'erte.  who  souc^ht  \n  ctTect  a  junc- 
tion with  Turenne.  encamped  at  Saint-Denis.  C^mde  endcav^'red  tM 
retreat  upon  Conflans  hy  skirtini;-  the  walls  of  Paris,  un  'hscrveil 
by  the  royal  army.  1\n-enne.  h.owever,  perceived  th.e  movement. 
and  falling  with  his  forces  on  tlie  prince's  tr.)o])s,  gave  him  hattle 
in  the  suburb  of  Saint-. Vntoine.  A  desperate  emitlict  ensued. 
Conde,  whose  troops  were  much  inferior  in  n.umbcr.  was  ab-'Ut 
to  sufTer  defeat,  when  the  populace,  harangued  by  M;idemoisel]e. 
the  daughter  of  Gaston,  rose  in  favor  of  the  ])rince.  Tlie  ga.tes  of 
the  city  were  opened  and  the  prince's  army  was  saved.  I'ru-is  ui  iv.- 
became  the  scene  of  frightful  disorders.  The  two  princes  excited 
the  populace  against  the  council,  which  was  ad\erse  to  them.  The 
people  besieged  the  Hotel  de  \'ille  and  preixired  to  set  it  on  hre. 
Many  magistrates  issued  forth  in  terror  and  were  slain.  Anarchy 
and  terror  reached  their  height.  The  princes  made  l^roussel  pr(j- 
vost  of  the  merchants,  and  the  Dtike  of  15eaufort  governor  of  Paris. 
The  famous  coadjutor,  Paul  of  (jondi,  always  hostile  to  the  Prince 
of  Conde,  put  the  archbishopric  in  a  state  of  defense.  The  magis- 
trates whom  self-interest  or  fear  made  stibmissi\e  to  the  princes. 
proclaimed  Gaston  lieutenant-general  of  the  kingd(^m.  until  tlie 
expulsion  of  the  cardinal,  and  C'onde  generalissimo  <^\  the  b trees. 
The  king  annulled  this  decree,  and  ordered  the  Parletnent  to  tran>- 
fer  itself  to  Poictiers.  Many  members  obeyed  this  order  and  went 
there,  wdiere  they  were  presided  o\er  by  Mole,  l^ach  army,  there- 
fore, was  not  supported  by  a  parlemen',  ;is  in  the  time  of  the 
league.  The  twcj  i)arties  were  weary  of  this  disastrous  war.  and 
as  Mazarin  seemed  to  be  the  (Mily  obstacle  to  the  conclusion  o\  a 
peace,  the  regent,  yielding  to  the  persuasions  of  the  wi.s^'r  of  her 
party,  at  length  consented  to  dismiss  him.  a.nd  he  retired  tc)  Sedan. 
The  people  of  Paris  received  the  news  of  the  cardinal's  dismissal 
with  enthusiastic  delight.  Conde  was  forced  to  (piit  the  ca])ital, 
and  proceeded  to  allv  him-elf  with  Si)ain.  The  coadjutor  visited 
the  king,  received  the  red  hat,  rmd  ;irranged  the  royal  return  to 
Paris,  which  Louis  XIV.  reentered  on  October  _m  ,  165,:;.  amidst 
the  acclamations  of  the  people.  The  king  banished  from  the 
capital  the  Duke  of  Orleans  and  the  leaders  of  the  revolt.     The 


206  F  R  A  N  C  E 

1653-1658 

coadjutor,  henceforth  known  as  Cardinal  of  Retz,  ahiiost  alone 
opposed  the  return  of  Cardinal  Mazarin.  Discontented  with  the 
court,  he  meditated  a  fresh  attack  against  it,  but  Anne  of  Aus- 
tria anticipated  him  by  having  him  arrested  and  lodged  in  Yin- 
cennes. 

The  Spaniards  had  profited  by  the  civil  troubles  in  France. 
Gravelines,  Mardick  and  Dunkirk  had  fallen  into  their  hands  and 
Conde  advanced  at  the  head  of  an  army.  Turennc,  at  the  head 
of  a  smaller  number  of  troops,  checked  his  march.  Anne  of 
Austria,  thereupon,  recalled  Mazarin  to  Paris,  where  she  received 
him  with  transport,  and  the  fickle  populace  with  joyous  acclama- 
tions (1653).  The  cardinal  assumed  an  absolute  authority  and 
subjected  the  revolted  provinces  of  Bordeaux  and  Guienne.  lie 
triumphed  over  all  his  enemies,  had  Conde  condemned  to  death  by 
the  Parlement  and  gave  one  of  his  nieces  in  marriage  to  the  Prince 
of  Conti.  Monsieur  remained  at  Blois  in  retirement.  The 
Cardinal  of  Retz,  after  having  been  transferred  from  Vincenncs 
to  the  castle  of  Nantes,  succeeded  in  escaping,  and  quitted  the 
kingdom.  Thus  terminated  the  war  of  the  Fronde.  Conde  alone 
still  kept  the  field  and  Louis  XIV.  made  his  first  campaign  against 
him  in  Picardy  under  the  guise  of  Turenne.  The  issue  was  suc- 
cessful, for  Turenne  attacked  the  enemy's  lines  before  Arras,  car- 
ried them,  and  obliged  Conde  to  raise  the  siege  of  that  place.  That 
able  general,  however,  continued  to  maintain  himself  in  arms,  and 
in  1657,  when  Turenne  commenced  a  fresh  campaign  in  Flanders, 
in  which  he  took  the  offensive,  he  was  compelled  by  Conde  to  raise 
the  siege  of  Valenciennes.  France  and  Spain  at  this  time  con- 
tended with  each  other  for  the  alliance  of  Fngland,  now  become  a 
republic,  and  governed  by  Cromwell  as  lord  protector.  He  put  a 
price  on  its  alHance,  and  ]\Iazarin  carried  it  off  from  Philip  IV. 
by  promising,  in  1656,  to  deliver  Dunkirk  to  the  Fngiish,  if  this 
place  should  be  retaken  by  France,  and  to  abandon  the  cause  of 
the  two  sons  of  Charles  I.,  who  were  both,  through  their  mother, 
grandchildren  of  Heniy  IV.,  and  who  passed  from  the  camp  of 
Turenne  to  that  of  Conde.  On  these  conditions  Cromwell  fur- 
nished the  French  with  a  fleet  and  six  thousand  troops.  Flanders 
was  still  the  theater  of  war  and  the  Battle  of  the  Dunes  (1658), 
in  which  Turenne  triumphed  over  his  illustrious  rival,  caused 
Dunkirk  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  victor,  who  immediately 
transferred  it  to  the  English.     This  victory,  followed  by  the  cap- 


LOUIS     XIV  207 

1658-1661 

tiire  of  a  great  miiTihcr  of  towns  and  f(/rtrcs.<;es.  decided  Pliili]) 
IV.  in  favor  of  peace,  wliicli  was  signed  on  Xovcnil)er  7,  \C>^(). 
Idiis  peace,  known  as  tlie  Peace  of  the  Pyrenees,  was  tlic 
most  useful  and  niemoral)le  act  of  Mazarin's  life.  By  it  Philip 
IV.  ctMifn-nied  tlie  ce.-sinn  df  Pignerol,  and  a  great  jxirlion  ,,\ 
Artois  and  Alsace  to  iMance.  win'cli  restored  Porraine.  Imt  retained 
the  duchy  of  P,ar,  Ronssilldn  and  Cerdagne.  up  to  the  foot  of  the 
Pyrenees,  and  many  ti  .wns  in  Puxeml)'>urg.  It  was  stipulated 
that  Conde  should  submit  to  t!ie  king,  with  the  assurance  of  a 
pardon  and  the  g<  >verniuent  of  P.urgundy,  and  that  Louis  XIV. 
should  espouse  Maria  ddieresa.  tlie  daugluer  i^\  Philip  IV.  luiropc 
was  now  at  peace,  and  lM-;ince  had  arrived  at  tlie  moment  when 
Louis  XIV.  was  to  take  tiic  reins  of  goxernnient  into  his  own 
hands.  Mazarin,  for  so  many  years  the  ah>ohUe  ruler  of  the  kiiig- 
dom,  was  drawing  near  tlie  close  of  his  lil'e.  I  le  died  on  Marcli  (), 
1661.  and  the  monarch  of  twenty  years  of  age  annrninced  < -n  the 
day  following  the  death  of  his  minister,  in  wluvsc  hands  was  hence- 
forth to  be  the  chief  authority. 

Haiday  dc  Chan\-alIon.  jiresident  of  the  council  of  the  clerg\-, 
having  asked  him  to  whom  he  was  now  to  ap])lv  with  reference  to 
affairs  of  state,  Louis  XIV.  replied,  ''  d'o  lue."  h'roni  this  moment 
he  became  the  sole  ruler  of  P'rance,  and  continued  to  be  so  till  his 
death. 

The  first  acts  of  T>ouis  XTV.  revealed  the  jealousv  he  enter- 
tained with  res])ect  to  liis  antliorit}-,  and  his  deiei-minati' mi  to 
retain  it  exclusi\ely  in  his  own  hands.  In  acct 'I'di.-'.nce  with  the 
advice  given  him  l)y  Ala/arin,  he  declared,  in  the  lii'st  ])!acc,  that 
he  would  ha\e  n(3  prime  mini>ter.  I  lis  council,  foimed  by  the 
cardin;d,  consi>led  of  the  Chancellor  Segur,  keejier  of  the  seals; 
Le  Tellier,  minister  of  war;  Lyonne,  nu'ni:-tcr  of  foreign  aiYair>. 
and  I'^mquet,  uu'nister  of  (Inance.  It  was  not  long,  however,  that 
Fouquet  held  office,  for  the  king,  convinced  i)y  Colbert  of  his 
criminal  exactions,  caused  him  to  be  arrested  at  Xantes  and  tried 
before  a  tribunal  appointed  for  the  i)m-pose.  The  punishment  to 
wdiich  he  was  condemned  by  liis  judges  was  banishment,  but  Louis 
XIV.  changed  it  to  one  of  ])eri)etual  detention.  In  1661  the 
finances  were  intrusted  lo  C'olbert,  with  the  title  of  comptroller- 
general,  and  from  this  moment  order  took  the  [)lace  of  chaos  in 
all  the  branches  of  the  public  administration. 

Louis  XIV.  displayed  an  excessive  jealousy  with   respect  t'^ 


208  FRANCE 

1661-1669 

the  honor  of  his  crown  and  a  great  impatience  to  give  to  France 
the  leading  place  among  European  nations.  He  forced  Philip 
IV.  to  acknowledge  that  Spain  was  the  inferior  power,  because 
the  Spanish  ambassador  had  by  force  taken  precedence  of  the 
French  ambassador  at  a  public  ceremony  in  London.  Imbued 
with  the  belief  that  power  is  the  only  law  in  politics,  Louis  suc- 
cessfully supported  Portugal  against  Spain  in  defiance  of  the 
Treaty  of  the  Pyrenees.  He  afforded  a  more  honorable  assistance 
to  the  Emperor  Leopold  against  the  Turks.  A  French  corps, 
under  the  command  of  the  Counts  Coligny  and  La  Feuillade,  cov- 
ered itself  with  glory  at  the  battle  of  Saint-Gothard,  where  Mon- 
tecuccoli  completely  defeated  the  grand-vizier,  and  by  this  victory 
procured  a  truce  of  twenty  years'  duration  between  Turkey  and 
Austria,  The  king,  by  the  advice  of  Colbert,  concluded  a  useful 
commercial  alliance  wnth  Holland  and  supported  this  republic 
against  England  until  the  Peace  of  Breda,  in  1667.  He  intrusted, 
at  the  same  period,  to  the  Duke  of  Beaufort  a  fleet  which  freed  the 
Mediterranean  of  pirates,  and  carried  the  terror  of  the  French 
arms  even  to  Algiers.  He  created  a  new  army  and  with  the  as- 
sistance of  his  minister,  Louvois,  son  and  successor  of  Le  Tellier, 
gave  to  this  army  an  organization  which  was  the  admiration  and 
envy  of  Europe. 

France  soon  began  to  taste  the  fruits  of  Colbert's  vigilant 
supervision  of  every  branch  of  the  administration.  Brought  up 
at  a  counter,  and  the  son  of  a  w^ool  merchant  of  Rheims,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  effecting  the  most  difficult  reforms  and  the  execution  of 
all  his  plans  by  the  aid  of  a  strong  will  and  indefatigable  industry. 
Fie  reduced  the  burden  of  taxation,  but  at  the  same  time  greatly 
augmented  the  revenue.  He  opened  to  France  new  sources  of 
wealth  and  laid  the  foundations  of  its  prosperity  in  commerce  and 
industry.  He  established  manufactories  for  the  production  of 
French  point  lace,  looking-glasses,  cloths,  tapestries,  carpets,  silks 
and  watches  and  took  pains  to  secure  outlets  for  all  these  products 
of  French  industry.  He  founded  colonies,  established  chambers 
of  commerce  and  insurance,  storehouses,  means  of  transit,  and  a 
new  system  of  customs  favorable  to  commercial  transactions.  On 
the  other  hand,  he  has  been  justly  reproached  with  having  too 
greatly  sacrificed  tlie  agricultural  interests  to  those  of  commerce, 
not  only  by  prohibiting  the  exportation  of  grain,  but  also  by  pro- 
hibiting its  free  circulation  in  the  interior.     A  navy  was  necessary 


lot: IS    XIV  ^>o!) 

1669-1672 

for  tlic  protection  of  ct)niincrcc  an<l  Colbert  in  a  sliort  time  dis- 
played before  the  eyes  of  astonished  l'lnroi)e  a  Iiiindred  vessels 
of  war,  lie  had  the  port  of  Rochefort,  on  the  C'hareiite.  excavated, 
and  those  of  Brest  and  d\)ulon,  which  were  fortified  b\-  V'anban, 
deepened.  Finally  his  m()de  of  adniiinVtration  t"nrnished  the 
king-  with  the  means  of  coverin^^  the  French  fn^itiers  on  tlu? 
north  and  east  with  a  line  of  fortresses  and  <jf  regaining  Dnn- 
kirk,  that  city  so  necessary  to  the  defense  of  the  kingdom,  which 
was  shamefnlly  S(dd  to  Lonis  XIV.  by  Charles  II.,  in  defiance  of 
all  the  interests  of  Fngland. 

The  king  lost  his  mother  in  1669.  Philip  IV.,  his  father-in- 
law,  had  died  in  the  ])receding-  year,  and  Louis,  without  ])aying 
attention  to  the  formal  renunciation  made  by  Maria  ddieresa,  im- 
mediately set  up  claims  in  her  name  to  Flanders,  to  the  exclusion 
of  the  rights  of  Charles  II.,  the  younger  son  of  Philip  IV.,  on  the 
pretext  that  her  dowry  had  not  been  ]-)aid.  Tie  gained  over  tiie 
Emperor  Leopold  to  his  side  by  making  him  hojie  that  he  would 
obtain  a  share  of  the  spoils  wrung  from  Charles  II.,  and  took  the 
field  at  the  head  of  his  army.  In  a  few  weeks  he  rendered  himself 
master  of  French  Flanders.  This  success  was  followed  by  tlie 
conquest  of  Franche-Comte,  a  pro\ince  ruled  bv  Spain,  which  was 
achieved  within  a  month.  Europe  became  alarmed  at  the  rapid 
successes,  and  a  triple  alliance  was  formed  against  Louis  between 
Holland,  England  and  Sweden.  The  grand-pensioner  of  Holland, 
John  de  Witt,  became  the  st)ul  of  this  league,  and  it  forced  the 
king  to  sign  the  Treaty  (jf  Aix-la-Chapelle  (1668).  in  accortlancc 
with  wdiich  he  retained  Flanders,  but  was  compelled  to  restore 
Franche-Comte. 

During  the  continuance  of  the  peace.  Lonis  XIV^.  devoted  his 
attention  to  the  internal  adnu'nistration  of  the  kingdom.  He  then 
considered  how  to  a\"enge  himself  upon  Holland  and  ])unish  her 
for  having  taken  part  in  the  Triple  Alliance.  Offended  by  some 
medals  which  represented  the  Cnited  Provinces  as  the  arbiters  of 
Europe,  and  irritated  at  the  im])ertinence  of  certain  gazetteers, 
the  king  sei.^ed  upon  these  frivolous  pretexts  and,  in  1672,  de- 
clared war  upon  the  Dutch.  At  the  same  time  he  detached  from 
their  alliance  Charles  XL,  King  of  Sweden.,  and  Ch;irles  11..  King 
of  England,  always  ready  to  sell  his  sui)port,  and  to  sacrifice  the 
interests  of  his  peojjle  to  his  ])leasurcs. 

The  Dutch  lleets  co\ered  the  seas  ar,d  secured  the  commercial 


210  FRANCE 

1672-1674 

prosperity  of  Holland  by  protecting  its  magnificent  establishments 
in  the  East  Indies.  Lonis  XIV.  reinforced  his  own  by  fifty  English 
vessels  and  entered  Holland  at  the  head  of  a  hnndred  thonsand  men 
accompanied  by  Turenne,  Vauban,  Luxemburg,  Louvois,  and  by 
Conde,  who  was  in  command  of  the  army. 

To  oppose  a  hundred  thousand  troops,  supported  by  a  formid- 
able artillery  and  commanded  by  the  most  celebrated  generals,  the 
United  Provinces  had  about  twenty-five  thousand  troops  ill  accus- 
tomed to  war,  commanded  by  Prince  William  of  Orange,  a  young 
man  of  feeble  constitution  and  only  twenty-two  years  of  age,  who 
had  seen  neither  sieges  nor  battles.  Though  brave  and  undaunted 
by  reverses,  he  could  not  check  the  torrent  which  flowed  down  upon 
his  country,  and  all  the  places  on  the  Rhine  and  the  Yssel  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  French.  The  Prince  of  Orange,  in  default  of 
sufficient  troops  to  support  the  campaign  in  the  open  field,  hastily 
formed  lines  beyond  the  Rhine,  which  he  soon  saw  it  would  be 
impossible  to  defend.  In  the  passage  of  this  river,  by  the  French, 
the  Duke  of  Longueville  lost  his  life,  while  Conde  received  a  wound 
and  resigned  the  command  to  Turenne.  Within  a  few  months 
three  provinces  and  forty  strong  places  had  been  taken,  and  Ams- 
terdam itself  was  threatened.  An  attempt  made  l^y  the  peace  party 
under  tlie  grand-pensioner,  John  de  Witt,  to  put  an  end  to  the 
war,  signally  failed,  on  account  of  the  insulting  and  humiliating 
terms  demanded  by  the  king.  Despair  lent  strength  to  the  van- 
cjuished.  They  opened  their  dykes  and  laid  the  country  under 
water,  for  the  purpose  of  compelling  the  French  to  evacuate  it.  The 
Dutch  Admiral  Ruyter  struggled  gloriously  against  the  combined 
squadrons  of  France  and  England,  and  the  battle  of  Solebay  secured 
the  coasts  of  the  republic  from  any  chance  of  attack.  Europe  rose 
in  favor  of  Holland.  The  Emperor  Leopold,  the  kings  of  Spain 
and  Denmark,  the  greater  number  of  the  princes  of  the  empire, 
the  Elector  of  Brandenburg,  Frederick  William,  the  founder  of  the 
high  fortunes  of  his  house — all,  alarmed  at  the  ambition  of  Louis 
XIV.,  leagued  themselves  against  him,  while  Charles  II.  himself 
was  compelled  by  his  Parliament  to  break  off  his  French  alliance. 
Louis  XIV.,  threatened  by  so  many  enemies,  could  not  collect 
together  sufficient  troops  to  carry  on  the  campaign,  and  in  a  short 
time  the  whole  of  Holland  was  evacuated  with  the  exceplion  of 
Grave  and  Alaestricht.  Franche-Comte,  however,  indemnified  him 
for  so  many  losses.     The  wdiole  province  was  conquered   in  six 


LOUIS     XT  V  211 

1674-1675 

weeks,  in  1^74,  and  a  second  time  wrested  hom  Spain,  was  ulwv 
to  return. 

The  great  Condc,  having  t!ie  Prince  of  Orange  in  fmnt  of 
him,  now  fought  liis  last  hatllc  near  Sencf,  in  hdanders  (]f)y\]. 
Tlie  Frencli  gained  llie  victory,  hut  W'ilHam  rallied  his  troops  and 
held  the  victors  in  check.  Three  times  Conde  attacked  In'm  without 
being  able  to  dri\e  him  from  his  last  and  impenetrable  jiosition. 
The  loss  of  each  side  was  frightful;  seven  thous.and  dead  were  left 
on  the  field  of  battle;  Condo  had  three  horses  killed  under  him. 
The  contest  lasted  fourteen  hours,  and  was  a  drawn  battle. 

Turennc  had  then  to  defend  the  frontiers  on  the  side  of  tlie 
Rhine,  and  after  a  rapid  ;nid  skillful  march  he  cr()ssed  that  river 
at  Philipsburg.  took  Sintzhcim,  and  at  the  same  time  defeated  ("aj)- 
rara,  the  emperor's  general,  and  tlic  old  Duke  of  Lorraine.  Charles 
IV.  He  next  vanciuished  the  Prince  of  Bournonvillc,  near 
Ensheim  and  then  retreated  and  took-  up  his  winter  (piarters  in  Lor- 
raine, The  enemy  belie\-ed  the  ca.mpaign  to  be  at  an  end,  but  for 
Turenne  it  had  only  commenced.  r>risach  and  Philipsl)urg  were 
blockaded  and  seventy  thousand  Germans  occupied  Alsace,  but 
Turenne,  with  twenty  thousand  men  and  a  few  cav;dry.  suddenly 
appeared  in  upper  Alsace  in  the  miilst  of  the  enemy,  who  beliex'cd 
him  to  be  still  in  Lorraine.  He  vanriuished  successively  at  Mul- 
hausen  and  at  Colmar  the  corps  which  offered  resistance,  and  utterly 
routed  a  formidable  body  of  German  infantry  at  Turkheim.  Al-ace 
remained  in  the  king's  possession,  and  tlie  generals  of  tlie  empire 
recrossed  the  Rhine,  closely  followed  into  the  Palatinate  by  liieir 
conqueror.  At  length  the  emperor  sent  against  Turenne  Monte- 
cuccoli,  the  first  of  his  generals  .and  the  \";m(]uisher  of  the  Tui'ks  at 
Saint-Gothard.  The  two  great  oi)ponents  were  on  the  ]~)oint  of 
giving  battle  to  each  otlier  neru^  the  \illage  of  Salzbach.  in  Padcn. 
and  Turenne  was  confident  of  \ictory,  when,  on  \-isiting  a  battery,  he 
fell  dead,  struck  l)y  a  cannon  l);ill  (1673).  Montecuccoli,  inforiued 
of  his  death,  dro\'e  the  I'rench  troops  across  the  ]\hine  and  pene- 
trated into  iVlsace.  Conde  was  sent  to  o[)pose  him.  and  was  able 
to  check  the  progress  of  the  imperial  arm}',  .and  to  f(U"ce  Moniecuc- 
^oli  to  raise  the  sieges  of  Hagennau  and  Savcrne.  Alsace  w;is 
evacuated.  I'his  brilliant  cam[iaign  was  the  last  conducted  1)\- 
the  two  illustrious  rivals.  The  great  Conde  heneefiMiJi  li\-ed  in 
retirement  at  Chantilly.  where  he  died  in  lON^;  while  Montecuecoli 
withdrew  from  the  emperur's  service. 


212  FRANCE 

1675-16S3 

The  Duke  of  Creqni  was  beaten  in  1675  at  Consarbriick.  near 
Treves,  by  the  Duke  of  Lorraine,  but  marked  successes  followed  his 
reverse.  Messina  had  shaken  off  the  yoke  of  Spain  and  had  placed 
itself  under  the  protection  of  France.  Assisted  by  the  Dutch  fleet, 
the  Spaniards  endeavored  to  retake  it,  but  Duquesne  defeated  the 
combined  fleets  in  the  sea  fights  of  Stromboli  and  Agosta,  in  the 
latter  of  which  the  Dutch  Admiral  De  Ruyter  lost  his  life.  These 
operations  were  followed  by  two  brilliant  campaigns,  conducted  by 
the  king  in  Flanders.  The  heroic  capture  of  Valenciennes,  made 
in  the  open  day  by  the  musqueteers — those  of  Cambrai  and  St. 
Omer — and  the  victory  of  Cassel,  gained  by  the  king's  brother  over 
the  Prince  of  Orange,  terminated  this  war,  which  was  unjustly 
commenced,  but  was  gloriously  concluded.  Louis  now  found  him- 
self the  arbiter  of  Europe.  The  Estates-General  of  Holland  were 
weary  of  a  struggle  which  had  been  maintained  but  by  their  sub- 
sidies, and  a  congress  assembled  at  Nimeguen,  at  which  peace  was 
signed  on  August  10,  1678.  Holland  recovered  all  that  had 
been  taken  from  her  during  the  war;  Spain  abandoned  the 
Franche-Comte  and  many  places  in  the  Low  Countries;  the  right 
of  France  to  the  possession  of  Alsace  was  confirmed.  Lorraine 
remained  in  the  hands  of  the  French.  Sicily  was  evacuated.  To 
the  advantages  secured  by  the  Peace  of  Nimeguen  Louis  added 
others,  not  less  important,  and  which  he  obtained  by  fraud  and 
violence.  In  addition  to  portions  of  the  domains  of  the  King  of 
Sweden,  of  the  Duke  of  Wiirtemburg,  of  Deux-Ponts,  of  the  Elector 
Palatine,  the  Elector  of  Treves,  and  a  number  of  other  princes, 
which  he  claimed  in  a  most  arbitrary  manner  as  dependencies  of 
countries  ceded  to  him  by  the  treaty,  Louis  seized  upon  the  free 
city  of  Strassburg  (1681),  and  Vauban  fortified  it  so  as  to  make 
it  the  rampart  of  the  kingdom  against  Germany. 

Justly  irritated  at  these  usurpations,  the  powers  of  Europe 
formed  a  fresh  league  on  the  day  of  the  capture  of  Strassburg.  But 
three  hundred  thousand  Turks  at  the  same  time  poured  down  upon 
the  empire,  and  Leopold  and  a  great  number  of  the  powers,  being 
too  feeble  to  recommence  the  war,  protested,  without  taking  any 
active  measures.  Spain  alone  dared  to  enter  the  field,  and  lost 
Courtray,  Dixmunde  and  Luxembourg.  A  truce  of  twenty  years, 
to  which  the  emperor  and  Plolland  acceded,  was  concluded  at 
Ratisbon  (1683),  according  to  which  the  king  was  to  retain,  during 
his   life,   Luxembourg,    Strassburg   and   all   the   annexations   pro- 


Loris    XIV  2i;3 

1683 

nounccd  leg-itimatc  by  tlic  so\crci.Q-ii  courts.  T^vcrvwlicre  the 
terror  of  his  arms  ])revaile(I.  The  ships  of  Spain  lowered  tlieir 
flags  before  his.  J^iif|uesne  freed  the  Mediterranean  of  the  pirates 
which  infested  il,  and  Algiers,  Tunis  and  Trip^.li  made  their  sub- 
mission. Genoa  accused,  falsely  perhaps,  of  having  assisted  the 
pirates,  was  bombarded  (1683-1684)  and  its  doge  was  forced  to 
go  to  Versailles  to  implore  the  compassion  of  Louis  XIV.  The 
Roman  court,  already  deeply  humiliated  by  him,  was  jjcaten  a 
second  time  on  the  subject  of  the  droit  dc  rci^alc.  This  law,  up  to 
the  time  of  Louis  XI\^,  did  not  affect  the  churches  of  Guienne, 
Provence,  and  Dauphine,  but  by  a  royal  edict,  issued  in  1673,  they 
were  now  all  rendered  equally  subject  to  it.  The  Pope,  Innocent 
XL,  vigorously  opposed  this  innovation,  and  a  long-continued  strug- 
gle ensued.  But  at  length,  in  1682,  an  assembly  of  the  iM-ench 
clergy  drew  up,  at  the  instigation  of  Bossuet,  the  four  famous 
articles,  in  which  is  set  forth  the  doctrine  of  the  Gallican  church. 
They  are  to  the  effect — ist,  ddiat  the  ecclesiastical  power  has  no 
authority  over  the  temporal  power  of  i)rinces;  2d,  That  the  general 
council  is  superior  to  the  Pope,  as  was  determined  by  the  Council 
of  Constance;  3d,  That  the  exercise  of  the  apostolic  power  should 
be  regulated  by  tlie  canons  and  the  usages  in  vogue  in  particular 
churches;  4th,  That  the  judgment  of  the  stjvereign  Pontiff  in  mat- 
ters of  faith  is  not  infallible  until  sanctioned  by  the  church.  The 
Pope  condemned  these  articles  and  refused  bulls  to  all  those  who  had 
been  members  of  the  assembly  of  1682.  The  bisliops  nominated 
by  the  king  continued,  however,  to  administer  their  dioceses,  by 
virtue  of  the  powers  conferred  on  them  by  the  chapters.  This 
expedient,  suggested  bv  B()ssuet,  prevented  perha])s  a  complete 
schism  betw'een  the  Church  (jf  l''rance  and  the  Church  of  Rome. 

Louis  XiV.,  feared  by  luu-ope,  was  an  absolute  king  in  his 
own  dominions,  and  could  say  witli  trutli,  "  Tlie  State — it  is  I!" 
He  had  destrDved  the  few  national  franchises  which  had  hitherto 
been  preserved  rather  by  custom  th.an  by  law.  Everybody  in  tlie 
state  rivaled  each  other  in  testifying  their  devtition  and  obedience 
to  him.  The  high  clergy  head  lost  all  political  inllucnce.  The 
nobility  was  kept  in  submission  by  the  h.abit  of  a  brilliant  servitude 
to  the  monarch  and  the  enticements  of  court  ])leasin-es  and 
fetes;  the  Parlement  found  its  functions  limited  to  the  administra- 
tion of  justice,  and  the  11iird  hastate  lost  its  nuinicipal  liberties  by 
the  definitive  establishment  of  intentlants  and  the  sale  of  the  [)er- 


214.  FRANCE 

16S3 

petual  mayorships.  The  three  orders  were  finally  reduced  to  a 
political  nulHty  by  the  king's  prejudice  against  the  States-General, 
and  his  invincible  resolution  never  to  convoke  them.  The  chains 
of  a  central  administration,  the  occult  power  of  the  police,  newly 
established,  and  the  maintenance  of  a  numerous  standing  army, 
completed  the  reduction  of  the  kingdom  to  a  state  of  passive  and 
slavish  obedience — a  state  in  which  the  king  kept  it  by  the  dazzling 
glory  of  his  victories  and  the  marvelous  works  effected  during  his 
reign.  France  now  began  to  possess  colonies,  which,  unlike  those 
previously  founded  in  the  Floridas,  Canada  and  Africa,  were 
dependent  on  the  mother  country.  Colbert  purchased  the  estab- 
lishments at  the  Antilles  in  the  name  of  Louis  XIV.,  and  placed 
under  the  protection  of  the  French  government  a  portion  of  the 
great  Isle  of  St.  Domingo,  which  had  been  taken  by  French  fili- 
busters from  the  Spaniards.  A  West  India  Company,  established 
by  his  efforts  in  1664,  purchased  the  French  possessions  in  America, 
from  Canada  to  the  Amazons,  and  in  Africa,  from  Cape  Verde  to 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Another  company,  called  the  East  India, 
also  arose  at  this  period.  Founded  at  first  at  Madagascar,  it  soon 
cjuitted  that  isle  and  planted  itself  in  the  Indies.  It  established  a 
factory  at  Surat  and  founded  Pondicherry,  which  became  the  center 
of  operations  in  India. 

Beneath  all  this  grandeur,  however,  there  were  concealed  many 
vices  and  numerous  perils.  Louis  XIV.  believed  that  he  possessed 
an  absolute  right  over  the  lives  and  fortunes  of  his  subjects,  and 
called  himself  "  God's  lieutenant  upon  earth."  Dazzled  by  the 
prodigies  effected  in  his  reign,  intoxicated  by  incessant  praise,  vic- 
torious over  all  opposition,  he  almost  reached  the  point  of  per- 
suading himself  that  his  glory,  rendered  lawful  on  his  part,  what, 
in  the  case  of  other  men,  was  most  criminal  in  the  sight  of  God. 

He  gloried  in  triumphing  over  difficulties,  and  in  undertaking 
what  seemed  impossible  things,  and  Colbert  saw  with  terror 
the  public  treasure  engulfed  at  Versailles  in  gigantic  and  useless 
works.  It  was  easy  to  foresee  all  the  miseries  with  which  France 
was  threatened  if  the  will  of  the  prince,  without  counterpoise, 
should  cease  to  be  guided  by  the  councils  of  genius,  and  should 
yield  to  those  of  ignorance  and  fanaticism,  and  if  his  prejudices 
and  the  interests  of  his  power  and  those  of  his  family  should  ever 
be  in  antagonism  with  the  interests  and  requirements  of  France. 
These  gloomy  forebodings  of  superior  minds  were  too  soon  justi- 


LOT  IS     XIV  215 

1683 

fied.  Colbert  died  in  168^^,  rind  from  tliat  time  the  risinc:  jirus- 
perity  of  tlie  reii^^n  reccised  a  check.  The  iJiixhi^aHties  of  the  kin:; 
and  the  expenses  of  the  kite  war.  which  had  Iieen  undertaken  a,<;ain.>t 
the  adx'ice  of  Colbert,  had  ah'cady  obh<;ed  the  kilter  to  have  rectnnse 
to  loans  and  to  vexations  taxes,  which  excited  the  murmurs  of  tiie 
people.  After  his  death  the  finances  fell  into  a  frightful  state  of 
confusion,  and  it  almost  seemed  as  though  this  great  minister  had 
carried  with  him  to  the  tomb  the  fairest  portion  of  his  master's 
glory  and  good  fortune. 


Chapter  XIII 


LOUIS    XIV.    AND   THE    DECLINE   OF   THE   FRENCH 
POWER    IN    EUROPE.     1683-1715 

THE  health  of  Louis  XIV.  had  suffered  since  1682  an  altera- 
tion which,  while  it  soured  his  temper,  inclined  him  to 
abandon  himself  without  reserve  to  the  fatal  suggestions 
of  Louvois  and  Madame  de  Maintenon.  The  former,  an  egotistical, 
proud  and  cold-hearted  man,  had  been  the  personal  enemy  of  Col- 
bert; the  latter,  the  talented  widow  of  the  poet  Scarron,  had  raised 
herself  from  the  obscure  post  of  instructress  of  the  children  of  Louis 
XIV.  to  the  most  elevated  rank.  For  there  is  no  doubt  that  the 
king  secretly  married  her,  and  the  year  1685  is  that  in  which  this 
clandestine  marriage  is  said  to  have  taken  place.  From  that 
moment  Louis  XIV.  appeared  to  have  survived  himself.  Great 
talents  still  shone  around  him  and  glorious  victories  checked  the 
current  of  his  adversity,  but  his  resolutions  were  ever  subject  to 
pride  or  superstition.  Most  of  them  hurried  on  the  ruin  of  the 
monarchy  and  few  of  them  really  tended  either  to  its  greatness 
or  prosperity.  One  of  the  first  and  most  disastrous  acts  of  this 
period  of  his  reign  was  the  revocation' of  the  Edict  of  Nantes.  The 
decree  by  which  this  edict  was  suppressed  was  issued  on  October 
22,  1685.  It  interdicted  throughout  the  whole  kingdom  the  exer- 
cise of  the  reformed  religion,  ordered  all  its  ministers  to  leave  the 
kingdom  within  a  fortnight  and  enjoined  parents  and  tutors  to 
bring  up  the  children  in  their  care  in  the  Catholic  religion.  Emi- 
gration on  the  part  of  the  Protestants  was  prohibited  under  pain 
of  the  galleys  and  confiscation  of  property.  But  in  spite  of  this,  a 
hundred  thousand  industrious  families  escaped  from  France,  and 
the  foreign  nations  which  received  them  with  open  arms  became 
enriched  by  their  industry  at  the  expense  of  their  native  country. 
This  odious  decree  intensified  the  hatred  of  the  Protestants  for  their 
king  and  increased  their  resources  and  their  strength,  while  it 
enfeebled  those  of  the  kingdom,  for  there  were  formed  many  regi- 
ments of  French  refugees  who  inflicted  more  than  one  severe  blow 
on  the  persecuting  monarch. 

216 


LOns     XIV  217 

1687-1690  ' 

The  conduct  (tf  this  prince  in  resjicct  to  strangers  was  neither 
more  just  nor  more  prudent.  His  overbcarin-  prifle.  tlie  (hs.hiin 
with  wdiich  h.e  treatcl  all  foreij^n  powers,  and  his  usuriiations  after 
the  Peace  of  Xime.qucn.  which  he  maintained  with  so  much  arro- 
gance, and  to  which  in  iT.S;  he  added  the  sei/m-e  >>f  Avi-nnn,  winch 
for  centuries  had  belonged  t^)  the  T'opcs,  dis-u<te<l  all  iuu-npc.  T\:c 
Prince  of  Orange,  against  whose  c-nsent  the  Peace  of  Ximeguen 
had  been  concluded,  h.ad  hecr>me  tlie  soul  of  a  new  league,  which 
took  the  name  of  the  League  of  Augsburg  (  ir,SS).  froui  the  ritv  in 
which  it  was  hrst  agreed  upnn.  'i'he  emperor,  the  empire.  Spain, 
Holland,  and  Savoy  f'trmed  a  coalition  against  l-'rance.  and  Louis 
sent  a  large  army  into  (lermany  under  the  (M'ders  of  tlie  dauphin. 
This  campaign  commenced  at  the  jjcriod  of  th.c  second  revolu- 
tion in  h:ngland  (  1688).  James  H..  brother  and  successor  of  the 
immoral  Charles  TL.  had  been  compelled  to  f|uit  tlic  throne  for 
endeavoring  to  reestablish  tlie  Catholic  faith  in  his  kingdom,  and 
William  of  Orange,  and  Mary,  the  daughter  of  James  H.,  had  been 
proclaimed  King  and  Queen  of  England. 

James  H.  sought  an  asylum  in  France.  Louis  XIV.  received 
him  wdth  royal  magnificence  and  immediately  took  up  his  eausc. 
in  spite  of  all  the  enemies,  who  on  the  n')rth.  the  e;ist.  and  the  soutli, 
threatened  his  frontiers.  The  daui)hin.  a<si<tcd  bv  Hcnrv  of  j)ur- 
fort,  Marshals  Duras,  Catinat  and  \'auban.  had  :dready  taken 
Philipsburg,  and  before  the  cu^}  of  tlie  e:nnp;iign  liad  become  pos- 
sessed of  Mayence,  Treves,  Spires,  Worms,  and  other  [)laccs  in  the 
electorate  of  Cologne.  Thus,  at  tlie  commeiu-euicnt  of  tlie  war, 
Louis  XIV.  found  himself  master  of  the  three  ecclesiastical  elec- 
torates and  a  portion  of  the  Palatinate.  This  unhapp_\-  pi"o\-ince, 
by  an  order  of  Loin's  XIV.,  signed  by  Lou\-o's.  was  inhum;in!y 
ravaged,  with  the  intention  of  keeping  back  the  eneni}-,  and  forty 
cities  and  a  multitude  of  boroughs  and  \  ill;iges  were  gi\-en  to  the 
flames  (1689).  Germany  burst  into  a  cr}-  of  horror,  and  at  once  <eni 
into  the  field  three  large  armies,  the  command  of  which  was  iniru>ied 
to  the  Duke  of  Lorraine,  Cliarles  \'.,  the  Prince  of  W'aldcck,  ;uid 
the  Elector  (jf  Brandenburg.  Charles  \'.  retook  Pmiiu  and  May- 
ence,  drove  ^larshal  Duras  back  into  l'"rance,  and  died  in  the  midst 
of  his  successes,  ^\'aldeck  \ani|iiished  Marshal  lluniieies  in 
Flanders.  Luxemboiu'g  was  then  apjjoiiited  to  tlie  eoniinand  of 
the  grand  army  (^f  the  north  and  justilied  the  king's  ehoic-e  in  the 
most  brilliant  manner.     His  first   achievement  was  the  defeat  of 


218  FRANCE 

1690-1693 

the  Prince  of  Waldeck,  near  Fleurus,  1690.  But  the  victory,  which 
seemed  to  be  a  decisive  one,  had,  nevertheless,  no  decisive  result. 
The  remains  of  the  vanquished  army  joined  at  Brussels  the  army 
of  the  Elector  of  Brandenburg,  while  Louvois,  jealous  of  the  vic- 
tor, deprived  him  of  a  portion  of  his  troops.  The  enemy  was  thus 
enabled  to  regain  his  supremacy  and  Luxembourg  was  reduced  to 
acting  on  the  defensive.  Catinat  now  gained  in  Piedmont  the  bat- 
tle of  Staffarde  against  Victor  Amadeus,  Duke  of  Savoy,  whose 
states  were  lost  for  France  as  soon  as  won.  The  Duke  of  Bavaria 
and  Prince  Eugene,  a  general  in  the  sei*vice  of  the  emperor,  com- 
pelled Catinat  to  recross  the  Alps. 

James  11.  had  gone  in  the  preceding  year  to  Ireland,  where 
the  Catholic  population  remained  faithful  to  him,  and  still  hoped, 
with  the  aid  of  Louis  XIV,,  to  recover  his  crown.  The  decisive 
battle  of  the  Boyne  (1691),  however,  ruined  his  hopes,  and  in 
the  following  year  the  result  of  the  battle  of  Aghrim  planted  the 
crown  firmly  on  the  head  of  William  III.  Louis  XIV.,  wdth 
Luxembourg  and  La  Feuillade,  made  a  campaign  in  Flanders  in 
1 69 1,  the  only  important  results  of  which  were  the  capture  of 
Mons  by  the  king  and  the  glorious  battle  of  Leuze,  which  resulted 
in  the  defeat  of  the  Prince  of  Waldeck.  This  success,  however, 
was  of  no  permanent  advantage  to  France.  The  distress  which 
prevailed  throughout  the  kingdom  was  now  extreme.  The  treasury 
was  exhausted  by  the  king's  prodigalities  and  the  maintenance  of 
four  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men  in  the  field.  A  loan  was 
opened  for  six  millions  of  funds ;  offices  were  created,  which  finan- 
ciers were  compelled  to  purchase;  considerable  donations  were 
demanded  of  the  cities,  while  the  king  redoubled  his  efforts  and 
made  immense  preparations  for  carrying  on  the  war.  He  marched 
into  Flanders  himself  at  the  head  of  eighty  thousand  men,  with 
Luxembourg  and  the  Marquis  of  Boufflers  under  his  orders,  while 
Catinat  carried  on  the  war  in  Piedmont.  Louis  XIV.  now  had 
before  him  his  illustrious  rival  King  William,  w^ho  had  come  from 
England  to  command  his  army  in  Flanders.  The  king  in  person 
took  Namur,  while  Luxembourg,  on  the  banks  of  the  ]\lehaigne, 
covered  the  siege,  and  held  the  forces  of  William  in  check.  After 
this  exploit,  Louis  XTV.  quitted  the  army  and  resigned  the  com- 
mand to  Luxeml)ourg,  who  covered  himself  with  glory  at  the  battle 
of  Steinkirk,  in  which  William  was  defeated  and  compelled  to 
retire,  a  movement  which  he  effected  in  good  order.     In  the  fol- 


L  oris     XI  V  219 

1693-1697 

lowing  year,  1693,  at  Neenvinden,  Luxembourg  again  obtained  a 
signal  \-ict()ry  ()\cr  tin's  prince,  but  again  failed  to  derive  any  |)ar 
ticular  advantage  fruin  it.  William  once  more  made  an  admirable 
retreat  and  bonis  Xr\'..  who  Iiad  formerly  made  so  many  conqnests 
almost  without  ligliMng,  could  now  scarcely  achieve  the  con(|uest 
of  bdanders  after  luuuerous  bloodv  victories.  Catinat.  no  less  suc- 
cessful than  Luxembourg,  was  victorious  in  Piedmont.  But  all 
these  glorious  successes  were  coiniterbrdanced  by  the  disastrous 
invasion  made  by  \'ictor  Amadeus  iiUo  Provence  and  the  fatal 
battle  of  La  Ilogue,  in  which  the  French  fleet  under  Tour\ille  was 
defeated  and  almost  destroyed  by  an  English  tleet  under  Admiral 
Russell. 

This  ruinous  war  was  prolonged  for  three  years,  during 
which  Europe  hurled  back  on  Louis  XIV.  the  evils  he  had  tuade 
her  suffer.  The  Dutch  seized  Pondicherry,  and  ruined  i-^XMich 
commerce  in  the  Lidies,  while  the  English  destroyed  the  French 
plantations  at  Saint  Domingo,  boiubarded  Havre.  Saint  Malo,  C'alais 
and  Dunkirk,  and  reduced  Dieppe  to  ashes.  Duguay-Trouin  and 
Jean  Bart  avenged  these  disasters  at  the  expense  of  the  enemy's 
maritime  commerce  and  Commodore  Pointis  surprised  the  city  of 
Carthagena.  These  successes,  however,  but  ill  repaired  the  great 
losses  suffered  by  France.  At  length,  after  the  ineffectual  cam- 
paigns of  Bouftlers  on  the  Rhine  and  of  Vendome  in  Catalonia, 
Louis  entered  into  negotiations  for  peace.  lie  first  of  all  suc- 
ceeded, in  1696,  in  detaching  from  the  league  the  Duke  of  Savoy, 
Victor  Amadeus.  who  gave  his  daughter  in  marriage  to  the  Duke 
of  Burgundy,  grandson  of  Louis;  while  in  Catalonia,  Vendome, 
after  many  successes,  achieved  the  important  conciuest  of  Barce- 
lona. These  last  events,  and  es[)ecially  the  defection  of  the  Duke 
of  Savov,  hastened  the  progress  of  the  negotiations,  and  at  length 
peace  was  signed  at  R^swick  on  Se])teml)er  20,  1697.  ]\v  this 
treaty  the  King  of  Spain  resumed  possession  of  many  })laces  in 
the  Low  Countries;  the  possession  of  Strasslourg  was  confirmed  to 
France,  but  she  agreed  to  restore  all  the  aimexations  with  the  excep- 
tion of  Alsace.  The  bdector  Palatine  resumed  possession  of  his 
domains,  and  the  Duke  of  Lorraine  that  of  his  duchy,  now  dimin- 
ished by  Longwy  and  Sarrelouis,  which  remained  in  the  hands  of 
France.  Finally,  the  Dutch  restored  Pondicherry  and  signed  an 
advantageous  treaty  with  bVance,  which  kejjt  her  colonics  and  pre- 
served her  possessions  at  Saint  Domingo. 


220  FRANCE 

1697-1703 

Charles  IT..  King  of  Spain,  languished  in  expectation  of  ap- 
proaching death.  He  had  no  children,  and  the  Kings  of  France 
and  England,  and  the  Emperor  Leopold,  coveting  his  domains,  had 
entered  into  a  secret  agreement  to  divide  them,  when  Charles  nomi- 
nated as  his  successor  Philip,  Duke  of  Anjou,  grandson  of  his  eldest 
sister,  Maria  Theresa,  and  second  son  of  the  dauphin  of  France. 
If  Philip  became  King  of  Spain  he  was  to  renounce  his  eventual 
rights  to  the  throne  of  France.  Charles  II.  died  in  1700.  Louis 
XIV.  knew  that  to  accept  this  testament  was  to  break  the  agreement 
which  he  had  previously  signed,  and  to  expose  France  to  a  new 
war  with  Europe.  But  notwithstanding  this,  he  accepted  the  will, 
recognized  the  Duke  of  Anjou  as  a  king  under  the  title  Philip  V. 
The  emperor  immediately  protested,  and  a  year  had  scarcely  elapsed 
before  Holland,  England  and  the  empire  had  made  common  cause 
with  him  against  Louis  XIV.  This  monarch  had  committed  two 
serious  faults :  one  in  sending  to  Philip  V.  letters  patent,  by  which 
his  rights  to  the  throne  of  France  were  preserved  to  him,  contrary 
to  the  express  will  of  the  testator,  and  the  other,  in  recognizing 
the  son  of  James  II.  as  King  of  England  after  his  father's  death, 
in  spite  of  a  formal  clause  in  the  Treaty  of  Ryswick.  The  confed- 
erate powers  immediately  made  preparations  for  the  terrible  war, 
known  in  history  as  the  War  of  Succession  (1701-1713),  in  which 
the  north  of  Europe,  then  divided  between  Peter  the  Great  and 
Charles  XII.,  took  no  part.  Louis  XIV.  and  Philip  V.  had  as 
their  allies  against  this  formidable  league  only  the  King  of  Portu- 
gal, the  Duke  of  Savoy,  the  electors  of  Bavaria  and  Cologne,  and 
the  dukes  of  Parma,  Modena  and  Mantua.  Llostilities  first  com- 
menced in  Lombardy,  where  Prince  Eugene  commanded  the  im- 
perial army  of  forty  thousand  men.  The  French  were  defeated  at 
Chiari,  on  the  Oglio,  after  which  Catinat,  who  directed  a  retreat, 
led  tlie  French  across  the  Adda.     Winter  separated  the  two  armies. 

In  T702  Eugene  surprised  Cremona,  where  Villeroi,  who 
had  been  commander-in-chief,  was  made  prisoner.  The  French 
speedily  retook  this  city  and  the  king  appointed  Vendome,  wlio 
was  adored  by  the  soldiers,  to  the  command  of  the  army.  Ven- 
dome reanimated  the  courage  of  his  troops  and  signalized  his  ar- 
rival among  them  by  the  victory  of  Luzara  (1703).  In  tlie 
course  of  this  year  the  English  general,  Churchill,  Duke  of  ]\TarI- 
borough,  vanquislied  in  Flanders  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  heir 
presumptive  to  the  crown,  and  Marshal  Boufflers,   and   freed   the 


LOUIS     XIV  221 

1703-1704 

course  of  tlic  Mouse  from  the  occupation  of  Spanish  troops;  wliile 
the  French  and  S])anisli  Heels  were  defeated  in  the  \)r,rt  of  Vigo, 
in  Gah'cia,  In-  Aihniral  Rooke  and  the  Duke  of  Ormond,  who  seized 
the  rich  galleons  of  Havana.  Villars.  h(3wcver,  who  commanded 
as  a  lieutenant-general  a  corps  in  Alsatia,  ])artly  counterbalanced 
in  Germany  these  reverses  by  the  defeat  of  the  imperialists,  under 
the  Prince  of  Baden,  in  the  battle  of  Friedlingen.  This  was  fol- 
lowed by  tlie  victory  of  Donauwerth,  which  \^illars,  who  had  been 
made  a  marshal  of  France,  gained  over  the  imperialists  in  the 
plains  of  ]  h^chstfidt,  in  concert  with  the  ]""dector  of  luivaria.  and 
tlie  road  to  \'ienna  appeared  open  to  the  French.  But  there  their 
successes  ceased. 

The  Duke  of  Saxoy  abandoned  France  and  supported  against 
Philip  y.  and  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  liis  two  sons-in-law,  the 
cause  of  the  emperor.  Villars  was  succeeded  in  his  command  by 
the  Count  of  Marsin,  on  account  of  a  want  (/f  concord  between  him 
and  the  Flector  of  r,a\-aria,  whose  troops  were  united  with  his  cnvn. 
He  was  sent  to  put  down  the  Protestants,  who  had  lied  to 
Ceveimes,  and  who  had  been  dri\'en  to  revolt  by  despair.  Portugal 
then  broke  its  alliance  with  France.  The  many  reverses  b'rancc 
had  now  suffered  were  speedily  followed  by  a  still  more  terrible 
blow.  Marshal  Tallard,  the  Flector  of  Bavaria,  and  the  Count  of 
Marsin  were  cnmpletely  defeated  in  the  battle  of  ]')lenheim  (1704). 
by  Fugene  and  Marlborough;  their  united  armies  were  (lestr(^ye(l 
and  Tallard  himself  was  taken  prisoner.  This  unfortunate  battle 
cost  the  I'^rench  fifty  thousand  men  and  a  hundred  leagues  of  coun- 
try. The  enemy  advanced  into  Alsatia.  and  took  Fandau.  The 
frontiers  had  been  crossed  by  the  enemy  and  e\'erv  day  the  war  of 
the  Cevenncs  became  more  formidable.  The  Cahim'st  mountain- 
eers had  formed  themsehes  into  regular  regiments,  under  the 
name  of  Camisards.  Fouis  Xl\^  so  far  bent  his  pride  as  to 
treat,  as  one  power  treats  with  another,  with  their  leaders  just 
esca])ed  Irom  the  scaffold,  and  one  of  them  named  Cavalier,  cele- 
brated for  his  in\incible  courage,  who  had  formerly  Ijeen  a 
butcher's  l)oy,  recei\ed  from  the  king  a  jicnsion  and  a  colonel's 
commission.     Villars  arranged  this  necessary  pacification. 

In  1704  the  I'jigli-h  took  from  .Spain  ihe  fortress  o\  dibral- 
tar,  and  in  the  same  year  fouglit  a  drawn  battle  witli  the  h'rench 
fleet  off  Malaga.  This  combat  seiiously  weakened  the  naval 
power  of  iM-ance  under  F<.iuis  XIV''.,  and  the  remains  of  tlie  ileet 


222  FRANCE 

1704-1707 

sent  under  Marshal  Tesse  in  the  following  year  to  retake  Gibraltar 
was  destroyed  by  the  English  and  by  tempests.  In  1705  the 
English  under  the  Earl  of  Peterborough  laid  siege  to  and  took 
Barcelona,  where  the  Archduke  Charles  was  proclaimed  King  of 
Spain.  Vendome,  in  Piedmont,  victorious  over  Eugene  at  the 
Bridge  of  Cassano  on  the  Adda,  in  1705,  alone  interrupted  the 
torrent  of  misfortune  which  swept  over  Louis  XIV.  and  Philip  V. 
at  this  period. 

The  year  1706  was  still  more  fatal  to  these  two  monarchs, 
although  the  campaign  opened  in  the  north  and  south  under  the 
most  favorable  auspices.  Vendome  having  gained,  in  the  absence 
of  Eugene,  the  victory  of  Calcinato  over  the  imperialists,  marched 
upon  Turin,  the  only  important  place  which  remained  in  the  hands 
of  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  and  laid  siege  to  it.  Villars  drove  before 
him  the  Duke  of  Baden  as  far  as  the  German  frontier,  but  in 
Flanders  Villeroi  was  completely  defeated  by  Marlborough  at 
Ramillies.  The  loss  on  the  side  of  the  French  was  frightful ; 
twenty  thousand  were  slain  or  taken  prisoners.  The  whole  of 
Spanish  Flanders  was  lost;  Marlborough  entered  Brussels  in  tri- 
umph, and  Menin  surrendered.  The  king  now  transferred  Ven- 
dome from  Italy  to  Flanders,  and  this  measure  was  the  cause  of  a 
new  and  terrible  disaster.  Eugene  had  already  crossed  the  Po,  in 
spite  of  the  French  army  which  closed  against  him  the  road  to 
Turin,  and  effected  at  Asti  his  junction  with  the  Duke  of  Savoy. 
Marshal  Marsin  had  succeeded  Vendome  in  the  command  of  the 
army,  with  which  was  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  and  being  unable  to 
check  the  progress  of  Eugene,  had  joined  La  Feuillade  before 
Turin.  Eugene  threw  himself  upon  the  French  entrenchments, 
and  carried  them.  IMarshal  Marsin  was  killed ;  the  French  troops 
were  dispersed,  and  the  military  chest,  together  with  a  hundred  and 
forty  pieces  of  cannon,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy  (1706). 
The  Milanese  territory,  Mantua,  and  consequently  the  kingdom  of 
Naples,  were  lost  for  Philip  V.  Eugene  marched  unopposed  upon 
France,  while  Lord  Galway  took  possession  of  Madrid,  where  he 
proclaimed  the  archduke. 

The  Emperor  Leopold  had  died  in  the  preceding  year,  but 
his  son  and  successor,  Joseph  I.,  carried  on  the  war  with  vigor. 
France,  without  allies,  lay  open  to  the  enemy,  when  Villars,  re- 
appointed to  the  command-in-chief  of  the  army,  took  the  lines  of 
Stalhoffen,   and   advanced  into   Germany,   but  being  unsupported. 


LOUIS     XIV  223 

1707-1711 

he  was  compelled  to  retrc.it  and  reenter  France.  Marshal  Ber- 
wick gained  in  Spain  the  battle  of  Almanza  (1707).  which  re- 
opened to  Philip  V.  the  n^ad  to  his  capital,  and  Marshal  Tesse 
forced  the  Duke  of  Savoy  and  Prince  Eugene  to  raise  the  siege  of 
Toulon. 

The  army  of  Flanders,  under  the  orders  of  the  Duke  of  Vcn- 
dome,  amounting  to  a  hundred  thousand  men.  was  the  last  hope  of 
P^rance.  Louis  XIV.  appointed  his  grand-^nn.  the  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy, to  cc^mmand  it  jointly  with  Vcndome.  An  unfortunate 
misunderstanding  divided  the  two  generals,  and  the  result  was  the 
defeat  of  Oudenarde  (1708)  and  the  caplr.re  of  Lille,  in  spite  of 
the  gallant  defense  made  bv  Boufllers.  The  enemy  was  allowed  to 
take  Ghent  and  P)ruges,  and  all  its  military  j^osls  in  succession. 
The  road  to  Paris  was  now  unprotected,  rmd  a  Dutch  cor|)S,  ad- 
vancing as  far  as  Versailles,  took  prisoner  on  the  bridge  <■■( 
Sevres  the  king's  master  of  the  horse,  whom  it  mistook  for  the 
dauphin. 

The  war  had  exhausted  all  the  resources  of  France,  and  the 
severe  winter  of  170Q  brought  the  general  misery  to  its  greatest 
depth.  The  people  in  many  provinces  perished  of  famine;  revolts 
broke  out  in  every  direction  and  ])aymcnt  of  the  taxes  was  re- 
fused. Louis  XIV.  sent  to  propose  peace  to  the  Dutch,  whom  he 
had  formerly  so  cruelly  humiliated,  but  his  envoy,  the  President 
Rouille,  was  received  in  Holland  with  haughtiness  and  contempt. 
The  Grand  Pensionary,  Ileinsius.  Prince  Eugene  and  Marlbt)r- 
ough  scornfully  rejected  the  propositions  of  Louis  XIV.,  who 
offered  to  abandon  the  monarchy  of  Spain,  and  to  grant  to  the 
Dutch  a  barrier  which  should  separate  them  from  P^-ance.  Pie 
demanded  that  the  king  should  give  up  Alsatia  and  a  part  of 
Flanders,  and  insisted  that  he  should  assist  them  against  his  grand- 
son. The  President  Rouille  was  ordered  to  convey  this  ultimatum 
to  Louis  XI\^,  and  t(^  quit  Holland  within  four-and-twenty  hours. 
By  the  king's  orders  the  extravagant  demands  of  the  enemy 
were  published  throughout  the  kingdom,  whereupon  indignation 
aroused  patriotism,  and  I'rance  rcdoul)led  its  efforts.  But  on  the 
other  hand,  Villars  lost  in  bdanders,  against  luigene  and  Marl- 
borough united,  the  sanguinary  battle  of  Malplaquet  (1710).  The 
result  was  that  many  strong  ])laces  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  allies, 
while  in  Spain  the  defeat  of  Saragossa  coni|K'lled  Philip  a  second 
time  to  fly  from  his  ca[)ital    and  to  traverse    his    kingdom    as    a 


224  FRANCE 

1711-1714 

fugitive.  At  this  juncture  unexpected  events  occurred  to  help 
France.  Vendome  reappeared  in  Spain,  where  his  name  effected 
prodigies.  His  victory  of  Villaviciosa,  in  171 1,  destroyed  the 
army  of  the  Archduke  Charles,  and  saved  the  crown  of  Philip  V. 
The  death  of  the  Emperor  Joseph  at  this  time  also  proved  of  con- 
siderable assistance  to  France.  The  Archduke  Charles,  his  brother, 
the  competitor  of  Philip  V.,  obtained  the  imperial  crown,  and  in- 
curred in  his  turn  the  reproach  of  aspiring  to  universal  monarchy. 
From  this  time  England  w^as  no  longer  interested  in  supporting 
his  claims  to  the  throne  of  Spain,  and  agreed  to  a  truce  with 
France.  Marlborough  was  recalled,  and  the  Duke  of  Ormond,  his 
successor,  received  orders  to  remain  neutral.  Eugene,  however, 
continued  his  career  of  conquest  in  Flanders.  He  was  master  of 
Bouchain  and  Ouesnoy  and  between  him  and  Paris  there  was  no 
strong  fortress.  Louis  saw  his  capital  threatened,  and  was  over- 
whelmed with  domestic  troubles,  for  in  the  space  of  a  year  he  lost 
the  dauphin,  his  son,  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Burgundy,  and  their 
eldest  son.  Vendome  died  in  Spain.  The  court  and  the  kingdom 
were  paralyzed  with  fear,  when  Marshal  Villars  saved  his  country 
by  carrying  Prince  Eugene's  entrenched  camp  at  Denain,  in  1712, 
and  defeating  the  combined  dukes  and  imperial  troops  under  this 
prince  and  the  Duke  of  Albemarle.  Having  entered  Denain  as  a 
victor,  Villars  immediately  sent  the  Count  of  Broglie  to  Mar- 
chiennes,  wdience  the  enemy  procured  his  provisions  and  munitions 
of  war,  while  he  himself  pursued  the  vanquished  along  the  Scheldt. 
The  bridges  broke  down  under  the  crow^ds  of  fugitives ;  all  were 
taken  or  slain  and  Eugene  himself  could  not  cross  the  stream. 
March iennes,  Douai  and  Ouesnoy  successively  surrendered  and 
the  frontiers  were  secured  against  attack. 

This  great  success  hastened  the  conclusion  of  peace,  which 
was  signed  at  Utrecht  in  1713.  Its  principal  provisions  were  that 
Philip  V.  should  be  acknowledged  as  King  of  Spain,  but  that  his 
monarchy  should  be  dismembered.  Sicily  was  giv^en  to  the  Duke 
of  Savoy,  with  the  title  of  king.  The  English  obtained  Minorca 
and  Gibraltar,  France  also  ceding  to  them  Hudson's  Bay,  New- 
foundland and  St.  Christopher.  Louis  XIV.  promised  to  dis- 
mantle the  port  of  Dunkirk ;  abandoned  a  portion  of  his  conquests 
in  the  Low  Countries  and  recovered  Lille,  Aire,  Bethunc  and  Saint- 
Venant.  The  Elector  of  Brandenburg  was  recognized  as  king  of 
Prussia,  and  obtained  the  upper  Guelderland,  the  principality  of 


LOUIS     XIV 


225 


1714-1715 


XeiifchatC'1,  and  many  other  districts.  The  Kniperor  Charles  \'l. 
refused  at  first  to  join  in  tliis  perice.  hut  Villais  fr)rce(l  him  to  dn 
so  by  cros>in^  llic  Khiiie.  and  a  preliminary  treat\-  was  siL;ned 
between  \  illars  and  I'lince  luij^ene  at  Rastatt ;  peace  bein^i^  defi- 
nitely concluded  on  June  7,  1714.  between  h' ranee,  the  emperor 
and  the  empire.  Ijy  this  peace  the  em[)eror  obtained  the  Low 
Countries,  the  Alilanesc  and  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  detached 
from  the  nitinarcliy  of  Spain,  and  rdso  recovered  Fribourg  and  all 
the  f(jrts  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Rhine.  France  retained  Landau 
and  the  left  bank  of  the  Rliine.     The  Llector  of  Bavaria  was  re- 


established in  his  rights  and  dignities.  All  the  sovereign  princes 
of  the  empire  rcco\-cred  their  states.  Holland  obtained.  i)y  a  third 
and  final  treaty,  which  was  signed  in  1715.  the  right  of  g^arrisoning 
many  places  in  the  Low  Countries  which  I'^rancc  restored  to  it,  but 
it  retained  the  principality  of  Orange,  with  respect  to  which  the 
Ifouse  of  Xassau  had  ceded  its  rights  to  that  of  Brandenburg.  Such 
were  the  results  of  this  disastrous  war  of  twelve  years'  duration. 
JMTmcc  [)rcscrvc(l  it:-,  frontiers  b}-  the  Fcace  of  Ltrecht,  but  its  im- 
mense sacrifices  had  ()i)ened  an  abyss  in  which  the  monarchy  was 
finally  engulfed. 


226  FRANCE 

1715 

Toward  the  close  of  his  long  life  the  king  showed  himself  de- 
termined to  set,  for  the  sake  of  his  family,  his  own  personal  will 
above  the  laws  of  the  kingdom  and  every  moral  consideration.  1  Fe 
married  his  natural  daughter,  Mademoiselle  of  Blois,  to  his 
nephew,  Philip  of  Orleans,  afterwards  regent,  and  he  caused  his 
sons  by  ]\Iadame  de  Montespan — the  Duke  of  Maine  and  the 
Count  of  Toulouse — to  be  legitimated,  giving  them  precedence 
over  all  the  first  nobles  of  the  kingdom.  Finally,  by  an  edict  issued 
in  1714,  he  granted  them  the  right  of  succession  to  the  throne  in 
default  of  legitimate  princes. 

The  king  was  now  growing  feebler  day  by  day.  His  great 
grandson,  who  was  to  succeed  him  on  the  throne,  was  only  five 
years  of  age,  and  the  regency  would  devolve  upon  his  nephew, 
Philip  of  Orleans.  Anxious  wdth  respect  to  the  future  prospects 
of  the  two  princes,  whom  she  had  brought  up,  Madame  de  Main- 
tenon  persuaded  the  king  to  make  a  will,  which  limited  the  power 
of  the  regent  by  the  establishment  of  a  council  of  which  the  Duke 
of  Maine  and  the  Count  of  Toulouse,  his  sons  by  Madame  de 
Montespan,  were  to  be  members.  Louis  XIV.  himself  had  little 
confidence  that  obedience  would  be  paid  to  this  testament,  wdiich 
he  confided  to  the  Parlement,  with  orders  that  it  was  not  to  be 
opened  before  his  death. 

About  the  beginning  of  August,  171 5,  the  king  complained  of 
sciatica  in  tlie  leg,  which  w^as  found  to  be  an  incurable  wound.  On 
the  14th  the  malady  declared  itself.  Louis  nevertheless  continued 
to  work  in  his  bed,  rising  from  time  to  time.  On  August  24  he 
confessed  himself  to  Father  Tellier,  and  on  the  following  day, 
feeling  very  ill,  he  received  extreme  unction  from  Cardinal  Rohan. 
From  this  time  he  languished,  calmly  contemplating  his  end,  till 
September  i,  when  he  expired  at  Versailles,  in  his  seventy-seventh 
year,  after  a  reign  of  seventy-two  years.  Madame  de  Maintenon, 
eighty-two  years  of  age,  retired  to  the  house  of  St.  Cyr,  which 
she  had  founded  for  the  education  of  three  hundred  daughters  of 
the  nobility  of  slender  fortune,  and  she  remained  there  till  her 
death. 


M  \II.\M  K    liK     AI  \l  \  I  1 MN 
M-.isnni,    ,.f    l\-,-s„UIcs 


Chapter   XIV 

THE    STRUGGLE    AGAINST    ARHEERARY    POWER, 
UNDER    LOUIS    XV^.     1 715-1774 

IN  apjiointinq*  liis  ncplicw,  Philip  of  Oi"leans.  recent  cif  tlie 
kiiii^doin,  i)y  his  will.  Louis  XIV.  liad  merely  bestowed 
upon  him  a  title,  without  any  real  jiower.  Lie  separated  the 
rc.cfency  from  the  tutorship  of  the  younc^  ^^i'lg".  which,  tog-ether 
with  the  command  of  the  rc^yal  htnisehold  troops,  was  confided  to 
the  Duke  of  Maine.  A  council  of  repfency.  formed  of  ccnirtiers 
and  former  ministers,  and  in  which  the  Du.ke  of  Orleans  was  only 
to  have  a  delil)erati\-e  voice,  was  to  exercise  the  real  sovereii:^n  au- 
thority. On  the  day  following  the  late  king's  death  the  Duke  of 
Orleans  presented  himself  before  the  ]\'irlement  (vf  Paris,  accom- 
panied by  the  princes,  the  peers  of  the  kingdom,  and  a  numerous 
following  of  courtiers  and  otTicials,  whom  he  had  gained  over  to 
his  interests.  In  a  very  skillful  harangue  the  duke  displayed  his 
anxiety  to  recei\e  from  the  Parlement  the  title  to  which,  by  his 
birth,  he  had  a  right.  Idien,  after  having  given  this  assembly  to 
understand  that  he  would  attend  to  their  suggestions,  he  read  the 
will.  The  greater  ninnber  of  the  magistrates  were  devoted  to  the 
duke,  and  the  testament  was  unanimously  set  aside.  The  I'arle- 
ment  acknowdedgcd  the  duke  as  regent  of  the  kingdcMU,  with  full 
power  and  liberty  to  compose  the  council  of  regency  as  he  might 
think  proper.  Orleans  summoned  to  it  those  whom  Louis  XIV. 
had  selected,  with  the  addition  of  the  Duke  of  Saint-Simon,  and 
Cheverny,  formerlv  Pishop  of  1'roves.  ddie  Duke  of  Maine  re- 
tained the  superintendence  of  the  cducatitni  of  l>ouis  X\^,  who 
was  being  iM'ought  uj)  at  Vincennes.  but  he  was  deprived  of  the 
command  of  the  household  troops,  ddie  \'arious  ministries  were 
suppressed,  the  regent  sul)stituting  for  them  six  distinct  councils; 
that  of  conscience,  and  those  of  war.  finance,  marine.  f(^reign  and 
home  affairs,  which  were  ])resi(led  oxer  by  Cardinal  of  Ncxiilles, 
Marshal  Villars,  the  Duke  of  Noailles,  Marshal  h^strecs.  Marshal 
Uxelles,  and  the  Duke  of  Antin.     To  these  a  seventh  was  subse- 

227 


228  FRANCE 

1715 

qiiently  added,  entitled  the  council  of  commerce.  The  regent  re- 
served to  himself  personally  the  superintendence  of  the  academy 
of  sciences.  His  first  measures  were  generally  approved  of.  He 
ordered  judicial  inquiries  into  the  conduct  of  the  financiers ;  fixed 
the  value  which  had  hitherto  been  vacillating,  of  the  various  gold 
and  silver  coins;  inspected  the  royal  prisons  and  revoked  the  ar- 
bitrary judgments  passed  by  Louis  XIV.  against  many  who  had 
unfortunately  offended  him,  among  whom  was  the  celebrated 
Fenelon.  It  was  under  these  happy  auspices  that  his  government 
commenced. 

The  influential  men  were  divided  into  two  parties.  One,  hav- 
ing at  its  head  Marshal  Villeroi,  the  young  monarch's  governor, 
faithful  to  the  policy  of  Louis  XIV.,  wished  to  maintain  a  strict 
alliance  with  Spain,  then  governed  by  the  famous  Cardinal  Albe- 
roni,  who,  from  being  a  simple  country  cure,  had  risen  to  be  tlie 
first  minister  of  Philip  V. ;  while  the  other  inclined  to  an  alliance 
with  England.  Lord  Stair,  the  English  ambassador,  with  the  as- 
sistance of  Dubois,  the  minister  of  the  regent's  debaucheries,  drew 
him  into  this  alliance  and  made  him  purchase  it  by  the  expulsion 
of  the  Pretender,  the  son  of  James  II.,  and  the  demolition  of  the 
port  of  Mardick,  which  Louis  XIV.  had  intended  to  be  a  substitute 
for  that  of  Dunkirk.  A  triple  alliance  was  formed  between  France, 
England,  and  Holland.  In  the  following  year  these  three  powers 
signed,  conjointly  with  the  emperor,  a  new  treaty,  known  by  the 
name  of  the  Treaty  of  the  Quadruple  Alliance,  and  Spain  was  sum- 
moned to  accede  to  it  within  three  months.  The  regent,  always 
anxious  on  the  subject  of  the  pretensions  of  Philip  V.  to  the  throne 
of  France  and  the  intrigues  of  Alberoni,  had  in  the  heart  of  his 
kingdom  many  enemies,  some  of  whom  had  been  roused  against 
him  by  the  force  of  circumstances,  and  others  by  the  errors  of  his 
government  and  his  personal  misconduct.  His  partiality  for  Eng- 
land and  the  rigorous  measures  taken  by  him  against  the  legiti- 
mated princes,  whom  he  had  deprived  of  the  rank  of  princes  of  the 
blood  at  the  request  of  the  dukes  and  peers,  had  alienated  from  him 
their  numerous  partisans,  as  well  as  those  who  adhered  to  the 
policy  of  Louis  XIV.  But  nothing  caused  so  widespread  a  feeling 
of  anger  against  the  regent  as  his  financial  operations. 

The  public  (lcl)t  left  by  Louis  XIV.  amounted  to  over  three 
billion  livres;  the  revenues  were  consumed  three  years  in  advance 
and  all  credit  was  destroyed.     At  first  the  regent  had  recourse  to 


LOUIS     X  V  229 

1715-1716 

iiifiuirics  into  the  proceedings  of  the  farmers-general  of  taxes,  and 
a  chamber  of  justice  was  appointed  to  search  ont  and  prosecute 
this  species  of  (lehn(iuents.  Thousands  were  denounced  as  having 
been  guihy  of  peculation,  and  their  property  was  declared  confis- 
cated to  the  crown  by  the  chamber,  a  portion  being  allotted  to  the 
informer  in  every  case  as  a  reward.  To  such  a  length  was  this 
system  carried  that  to  be  rich  was  sufficient  to  render  a  man  liable 
to  suspicion  and  accusation.  But  ultimately  universal  disgust  was 
felt  that  the  liberty  of  robbing  should  have  been  merely  transferred 
from  one  set  of  hands  to  another,  and  the  chamber  of  justice  fell 
into  well-deserved  C(mtempt.  Rectnirse  was  also  had  to  other 
means  equally  arbitrary  and  violent.  The  contracts  concluded  with 
the  former  government  were  annulled ;  the  rents,  as  well  as  all 
pensions  amounting  to  more  than  six  hundred  livrcs,  were  reduced 
to  one-half;  and  a  multitude  of  offices  and  privileges  created  and 
sold  by  the  late  government  were  pitilessly  suppressed,  without 
any  return  of  the  price  which  had  been  paid  f(^r  them.  The  re- 
minting  of  the  coin  appeared  to  offer  to  the  government  immense 
advantages,  and  it  was  ordered.  But  this  proceeding  failed  to 
produce  the  prtTit  anticipated  by  those  wdio  had  suggested  it,  and 
had  the  effect  of  destroying  confidence,  checking  the  circulation  of 
specie  and  dei)reciating  the  gold  coin  of  the  kingdom  abroad.  A 
third  financial  o])eration  had  for  its  object  a  gener.al  review  of  the 
public  funded  property,  of  which  the  amount  was  unknown,  and 
which  it  was  resolved  to  turn  into  a  single  s[)ccies  of  state  bonds. 
Six  hundred  nfillions  were  examined,  which  were  reduced  by  law 
to  two  hundred  and  fifty  millions,  bearing  interest  at  four  per 
cent.,  of  which  only  one  hundred  and  ninety-five  were  (lcli\-ered  to 
the  owners  of  the  exann'ned  ])ub]ic  funds.  After  these  \-iolenl 
measures  the  Duke  of  Xnailles  liad  recourse  to  others  likclv  to 
C('rrupt  the  ])ul)lic  mind,  and  resorted  to  li>tteries.  Idie  crisis,  how- 
e\'er,  was  by  no  means  less  imminent,  when,  in  the  midst  of  this 
general  conlusion  ol  ailairs  the  Scdlchman,  Law,  began  to  rise  into 
notice.  This  adventurer,  wdio  eventually  became  so  famous,  and 
who  united  t(;  higii  financial  concejUions  errors  wdnch  were  the 
result  of  practical  inexperience,  enticed  the  regent  by  the  noveltv 
of  his  theories,  detailed,  as  they  were,  with  great  clearness.  At 
first,  however,  in  1716,  his  genius  was  limited  to  operations  with  a 
bank  of  wdnch  the  funds,  divided  into  tweUe  hundi-ed  shares. 
amounted  only  to  six  millions.     Law  obtained  the  monopoly  of  it 


230  FRANCE 

1716 

for  twenty  years.  It  managed  the  financial  business  of  private 
persons,  discounted  bills  of  exchange,  received  deposits,  and  issued 
notes  pavable  at  sight  and  in  coin  of  a  fixed  amount.  It  had  a 
prodigious  success,  and  caused  the  current  of  commerce  once  more 
to  flow.  The  regent,  anxious  to  make  the  government  share  in  the 
profits  of  this  bank,  ordered  that  its  notes  should  be  received  in 
payment  of  taxes  and  wished  to  be  himself  one  of  its  directors. 

Law,  however,  encountered  a  lively  opposition,  and  especially 
from  the  Parlement.  His  most  formidable  adversaries,  the  Chan- 
cellor Aguesseau  and  the  Duke  of  Noailles,  had  been  dismissed, 
and  the  former  lieutenant  of  police,  D'Argenson,  and  Dubois,  were 
at  the  head  of  affairs,  when  the  regent  resolved  to  strike  a  decisive 
blow  at  once  against  the  enemies  of  Law  and  the  legitimated 
princes.  Accordingly,  he  issued  letters  patent  which  deprived  the 
Parlement  of  the  right  of  remonstrating  with  respect  to  matters 
of  finance  and  policy,  and  a  decree  by  which  the  superintendence 
of  the  education  of  the  king  was  taken  from  the  Duke  of  Maine 
and  given  to  his  nephew  and  enemy,  the  Duke  of  Bourbon,  a  prince 
of  depraved  manners,  singularly  avaricious,  and  of  the  most  lim- 
ited intellect.  The  councils  established  by  the  Duke  of  Orleans  at 
the  commencement  of  the  regency  were  suppressed,  and  replaced 
by  departments,  at  the  head  of  which  he  placed  secretaries  of  state, 
who  were  more  directly  dependent  on  himself.  A  conspiracy, 
which  was  supported  by  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Maine,  was  set 
on  foot  by  the  Spanish  ambassador,  the  Prince  of  Cellamare,  by 
order  of  Cardinal  Alberoni,  with  the  view  of  detaching  Louis  XV. 
from  the  Quadruple  Alliance,  and  depriving  the  Duke  of  Orleans 
of  the  regency.  The  plot,  how^ever,  was  discovered  by  Dubois,  and 
the  Spanish  ambassador  was  sent  to  Blois  to  await  the  orders  of 
his  court,  while  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Maine  were  arrested  and 
imprisoned.  But  on  a  free  acknowledgment  of  their  fault  the 
regent  as  frankly  forgave  .them.  A  magnanimous  forgetfulness  of 
injuries  was  his  noblest  quality.  Nevertheless,  there  was  but  one 
feeling  throughout  France  and  Europe  respecting  the  bad  faith  of 
the  Spanish  amljassador,  and  war  with  Philip  V.  was  resolved  on. 

Disturbances  now  broke  out  in  Brittany,  which  was  still,  to 
a  very  great  extent,  uncultivated,  and  where  there  languished  a 
poor  and  ignorant  population  in  subjection  to  five  or  six  thousand 
gentlemen.  The  latter,  indignant  at  the  domineering  spirit  of  the 
governor  of  the  pro\ince,  Marshal  of  Montesquiou,  resisted  some 


I.  0  r  I  S     X  V  231 

1716-1719 

demands  of  the  j^'overnmcnt  and  were  sn])portcd  In  tlicir  resistance 
by  the  pailement  of  Ihitlany.  Albenmi  saw  in  these  sparks  cf 
revolt  tlie  ]i()i)e  of  a  jxnverful  (Hx-ersion  in  faxor  of  I'hiHp  \'..  and 
snpi)orted  the  leaders  in  their  factions  projecls.  ddie  latter  sij^ncd 
an  an^reeinent  of  armed  eonfederacv.  anil  called  the  Spani>h  ti"i>(ips 
to  their  aid.  l)ut  the  lower  classes  refnsed  to  have  anything-  to  do 
witli  the  (piarrel.  ddie  o-, .vcrnment  Iiad  no  difiiculiy  in  stiihng-  the 
rex'olt.  and  when  the  Spanish  fleet,  commanded  by  the  Dnke  of 
Ormond.  appeared  within  sight  of  the  coasts  of  r)rittany,  it  fonnd 
them  lined  witli  troo])s  and  defended  b}'  a  ]')opnlation  faithfnl  to 
the  gox-ernment.  In  the  meantime  Afarshal  Berwick  had  entered 
Spain  and  not  only  took  a  £:^reat  nnmbcr  of  places,  but  destroyed 
the  Spanish  na\y  in  its  ports.  .About  the  same  time  sixteen 
thousand  imperial  troops  led  into  Sicily  bv  General  Mere}-  drove 
the  Spaniards  from  that  islrmd.  into  which  rm  armv  of  inx'asion 
had  been  sent  l)y  Allieroni  in  the  previous  year.  Crushed  by  these 
numerous  reverses.  Alberoni  saxv  that  he  x\as  lost.  In  vain  he 
threatenetl  the  h'rench  government  with  an  alliance  between  Spain. 
England,  and  Austria.  His  disgrace  was  resolxed  on,  and  de- 
manded, by  the  regent,  and  in  December,  171Q.  Idiilip  W  signed  a 
decree  which  ortlered  him  to  quit  Madrid  xvithin  eight  days.  d"he 
King  of  S])ain  also  sent  in  his  adhesion  to  the  'I'reaty  of  the  Quad- 
ruple Alliance,  and  it  was  signed  l)y  his  minister  in  ]''ebruary. 
1720,  at  the  Hague.  By  this  treaty  the  ]"^mperor  Chailes  \'I.  re- 
nounced the  vSpanish  monarchy,  and  Phili])  \'.  abandoned  all  the 
states  which,  by  the  i'eace  (»i  Jxastatt,  liad  been  sexercd  from  it. 
The  emperor  undertook  to  bcstoxv  the  sovereignly  of  Tuscanx-  on 
Don  Carlos,  the  son  of  Philip  \'.  rmd  hdizabelh  l-'aniese.  afler  the 
death,  which  xvas  considered  imminent,  of  tlie  last  of  the  Medici. 
By  the  s.ame  treaty  Sicily  x\;'.s  gi\en  to  the  Mouse  of  Austria,  the 
Dulce  of  Sax'oy  receiving  in  exchange  for  it  Sardinia,  xxhicli  xvas 
raised  to  the  rank  of  a  kingdi(tm.  The  Dukx  of  (Arleans  no\x'  fouml 
himself,  for  a  time,  the  arbiter  of  b^uro])e.  This  j)o\xerful  inllu- 
cnce  xvas  partly  due  to  the  ephemer.al  but  prodigious  success  of  the 
SN'stem  established  by  Laxv,  xxhich,  adopted  by  the  regent,  enjoved 
the  highest  degree  of  public  fax'or,  and  jjlaced  immense  ])ecuniai-v 
resources  in  the  hands  of  the  goxeiaiment. 

Daxx's  b.ank'  had  been  declared  the  roy.al  bank  at  the  close  of 
the  year  171 8.  It  liad  ac(|uired  the  prixileges  belonging  to  tlie  old 
India  coni[)an)-,  which,  in  addition  to  x  ast  territories  in  Louisiana, 


232  FRANCE 

1719-1720 

possessed  the  sole  right  of  trading  with  Africa  and  Asia.  The 
government  also  bestowed  on  it  the  monopoly  in  tobacco,  the  ex- 
cise duties  of  Alsatia  and  Franche-Comte,  the  profit  derivable  from 
the  coinage  of  money,  and,  lastly,  collection  of  the  revenue.  The 
current  coin  was  depreciated  by  subjecting  it  to  many  consecutive 
variations,  while  the  banknotes  alone  appeared  to  be  invariable 
in  value,  and  thus  superior  to  the  money  value  which  they  repre- 
sented. Believing  that  this  was  really  the  case,  a  credulous  multi- 
tude eagerly  purchased  shares  in  Law's  company,  and  exchanged 
its  gold  for  his  banknotes.  This  gold  served  to  reimburse  the 
creditors  of  the  state,  and  they,  embarrassed  by  their  capital  and 
full  of  a  blind  confidence,  readily  exchanged  it  in  their  turn  for 
shares  the  value  of  which  increased  in  proportion  to  the  number 
of  purchasers.  The  public  credulity  soon  reached  its  height,  and 
eighteen  thousand  livres  were  given  for  a  share  the  original  value 
of  which  was  no  more  than  five  hundred. 

This  excitement  of  speculation,  however,  scandalous  as  it  was, 
had  some  favorable  effects.  The  rehabilitation  of  the  much  de- 
cried paper-money  gave  an  unusual  impulse  to  commerce  and  in- 
dustry, the  amount  of  manufactures  increased  by  three-fifths, 
agriculture  and  the  treasury  were  enriched  by  the  increased  con- 
sumption of  every  species  of  produce.  Everything  was  easy  to  the 
government  when  it  had  the  gold  of  the  kingdom  at  its  command. 
French  diplomacy  became  dominant  and  the  navy  of  France  was 
restored  to  a  state  in  which  it  would  be  able  to  protect  French  com- 
merce. The  regency  annexed  colonies  to  the  mother-country  and 
joined  to  it  the  Isle  of  France,  which  was  coveted  by  the  English. 
The  foundation  of  New  Orleans,  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi, 
dates  from  this  period. 

At  the  commencement  of  1720  Law  found  himself  at  the 
height  of  his  fortune,  and  after  having  abjured  the  Protestant 
faith  was  made  comptroller-general.  But  from  this  time  dates 
his  fall.  His  principal  error  had  been  that  he  looked  upon  paper- 
money  as  a  ]3erfect  equivalent  for  coin,  and  the  fatal  consequences 
of  this  error  had  been  aggravated  by  the  ignorance  and  cupidity  of 
the  government.  Law  was  not  allowed  to  regulate  tlie  movements 
of  his  system.  A  frightful  mass  of  notes,  out  of  all  proportion 
with  the  coin  of  France,  was  manufactured  and  launched  into  cir- 
culation in  spite  of  his  remonstrances.  It  amounted  to  the  nominal 
value  of  many  thousand  millions  and  it  was  soon  perceived  that  it 


L  O  I    I  S     XV  233 

1720-1723 

would  be  inipnssihlc  to  redeem  it  by  actual  coin.  On  May  21  there 
appeared  an  edict  which  reduced  the  shares  in  the  company  to  half 
their  value.  From  this  moment  all  illusion  with  respect  to  the 
company  was  at  an  end.  Law  was  arrested,  and  summoned  to  c^ive 
in  his  accounts,  which  he  did  with  an  admirable  clearness  wliich 
confounded  his  enemies.  The  direction  of  the  bank  and  of  tlic 
company  was  handed  over  to  Law's  old  opponent,  the  Chaticcllor 
Aguesseau  in  17J0.  l^ut  this  ilhistrinus  man  jii assessed  neither 
genius  nor  power  sulTicicnt  to  (juell  the  storm,  and  misfortunes  fol- 
lowed each  other  in  rapid  succession.  'i"he  i)esti!ence  which  broke 
out  in  h'rance  closed  rduK^st  all  ports  to  b'rcnch  \essels  and  indicted 
upon  the  com])any  enormous  losses,  the  discredit  into  which  it  had 
fallen  Ix'ing  at  the  same  time  e\-en  more  injurious  to  it.  At  length 
the  Parlement  rejected  without  deliberation  the  last  edicts  which 
afforded  any  jn-ospocts  of  the  bank's  solvencv,  whereupon  the  gov- 
ernment avenged  itself  by  exiling  the  I'arlement  in  a  body  to 
Pontoise,  where  it  remained  until  its  recall  to  P.aris  in  1722. 

Such  was  the  depreciation  of  the  monev  value  of  tlie  bank- 
notes aufl  the  company's  shares,  that  in  June,  1721,  shares,  which 
a  year  ])re\ious]y  had  been  worth  twenty  tlious.and  ]i\res.  were 
purchased  for  a  gold  louis.  Law  then  fpiitted  I'rance  and  retired 
to  Venice,  abandoning  to  the  regent  all  his  fortune,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  five  hundred  thousand  crowns,  which  he  had  brougli!, 
with  him.  1dic  go\ernment  endea\'ore(l,  by  means  of  a  number  of 
violent  edicts,  to  restore  to  the  notes  of  the  bank  a  \alne  which 
nothing  but  credit  could  ha\c  made  them  sustain;  but  these-  meth- 
ods were  of  no  awail,  and  in  ]y2i  tl^e  go\-ernment  had  again  re- 
course to  the  operation  of  examination,  to  ascertain  the  real 
amount  of  the  state  debt  and  the  titles  of  its  creditors.  Oi  two 
thousand  two  hundred  millions  worth  of  pa])er  securities,  onc-lhirtl 
was  declared  null,  while  those  tliat  remained  were  reduced  to  a 
value  much  b-clow  that  which  tlu'y  nominally  bore.  The  ])rofe.-^- 
sional  stockjobbers,  who  had  made  enormous  profits,  were  \"io- 
Icntly  dei)ri\ed  of  the  larger  portion  of  their  gains.  The  debt-- 
which  had  to  be  li(|uidatcd  amounted  to  se\enteen  hundred  nn'l- 
lions,  and  the  state  found  itself  much  more  in  debt  than  it  had 
been  at  the  death  of  T>ouis  XIV. 

Louis  XV.  was  declared  of  age  by  the  Parlement  in  January, 
1723.  On  the  attainment  of  the  king's  majoiity,  Dubois,  who  liad 
been  made  a  cardinal   by   Po]k'  Innocent  XIIL   for  procuring  llie 


234.  FRANCE 

1723-1725 

recognition  of  the  Bull  Unigenitiis  of  Clement  XI.  in  France — a 
document  which  most  French  churchmen  considered  prejudicial 
to  the  liberties  of  the  Galilean  church — was  made  prime  minister, 
but  dying  shortly  after  his  elevation,  he  was  succeeded  in  office  by 
the  late  regent,  who  himself  died  of  apoplexy  in  December,  1723. 
The  Duke  of  Bourbon  then  became  first  minister  of  the  crown.  Be- 
fore his  death  the  Duke  of  Orleans  had  projected  a  marriage  be- 
tween the  king  and  the  Infanta  of  Spain,  a  child  four  years  of 
age,  and  sent  his  own  daughter  to  Spain  as  the  future  wife  of  the 
Prince  of  the  Asturias. 

Three  persons  only  constituted  the  king's  council ;  these  were 
the  Duke  of  Bourbon,  Fleury,  Bishop  of  Frejus,  and  Marshal 
Villars.  The  first  laws  made  under  the  authority  of  this  ministry 
were  both  foolish  and  wicked.  The  legal  value  of  the  coin  was  re- 
duced to  one-half,  and  the  rate  of  interest  to  the  dcjiicr  trcntc. 
After  a  time  the  disastrous  effects  of  this  measure  were  perceived, 
and  after  having  plunged  the  kingdom  into  confusion  it  was  re- 
pealed. Heavy  taxes  of  various  kinds  were  levied  throughout  tlic 
kingdom,  and  barbarous  laws  were  enacted  against  the  Protestants. 
Through  a  jealous  hatred  of  the  House  of  Orleans,  and  the  fear 
that  it  might  succeed  to  the  crown,  if  the  king  should  die  without 
a  direct  heir,  the  Duke  of  Bourbon  broke  off  the  marriage  which 
had  been  projected  between  the  king  and  the  Infanta  of  Spain,  whom 
he  sent  back  to  her  own  country,  ■  substituting  for  her  Maria 
Leczinski,  the  daughter  of  Stanislaus,  formerly  crowned  King  of 
Poland  by  Charles  XII.,  and  who,  stripped  of  his  royal  state,  lived 
in  obscurity  at  Weissenberg.  This  affront  was  keenly  felt  in  Spain, 
when  Philip  V.  learned  the  rupture  of  the  projected  marriage  be- 
tween I  lis  daughter  and  Louis  XV.  At  this  news  his  anger  was  ex- 
treme, and  he  immediately  sent  away  the  two  daughters  of  the 
regent,  one  of  whom  was  the  widow  of  his  son,  Louis,  while  the 
other,  Mademoiselle  of  Beaujolais,  had  been  intended  to  be  the 
wife  of  the  Infante  Don  Carlos.  This  was  too  little  to  satisfy  his 
vengeance,  and  he  concluded  a  treaty  with  the  Emperor  Charles 
VI.,  who  was  irritated  at  the  opposition  shown  by  the  powers  to 
his  pragmatic  sanction,  a  law  by  which,  in  default  of  leaving  male 
children,  he  appointed  his  daughter,  Maria  Theresa,  to  succeed 
him.  Alarmed  at  this  treaty,  France,  England  and  Prussia  signed 
in  1725  that  of  Hanover,  the  basis  of  which  was  a  neutral 
guarantee  and  alliance. 


T.  OT^IS     XV  «35 

1725-1734 

In  the  f(illo\\in,Gf  vcar  tlie  misery  n{  ihe  peo])]i'  \vn>  so  ,G;rcat. 
and  the  outcries  ncfainst  tlie  j;-(i\eninient  so  fierce  and  frequent, 
that  it  was  found  necessary  to  dismiss  the  Duke  of  Rourljon  fr<  uu 
office.  The  kinq-  declared  that  liencefortli  he  \V(iuld  ha\e  no  fr-^t 
nu'nister,  and  would  hold  the  reins  of  ,c^nvermnent  in  his  own 
hand. 

Althou,2:h  T>()uis  XV.  had  declared,  (^n  the  dismissal  of  tlic 
Duke  r)f  Pxiurhon.  that  he  would  no  Ioniser  h;i\'e  a  first  minister, 
the  functions  of  this  office  were  \-irtuallv  dischar^q'cd  by  his  old 
tutor  T'deury.  who  had  acquired  a  t^'f-eat  ascendency  o\-er  the  kiuLT. 
Averse  to  war,  Fleury,  who  had  been  made  a  cardin.'d  in  ijjfi. 
used  his  utmost  enderwors  to  maintain  peace.  A  i;"eneral  ci»nL;ress 
was  opened  at  Soissons  in  1728,  but  Awas  dissolved  in  the  follMwin;^- 
year  without  ha\in_Q-  achieved  any  practiced  result.  While  the 
deputies  of  the  se\eral  ])owers  were  discoursing-,  bleury  was  neiL;-o- 
tiating".  He  formed  an  alliance  between  Spain  and  ]-^\ance.  and.  in 
1731,  fresh  treaties,  entered  into  at  \'ienna  between  I'rance,  the 
emperor.  Spain  and  Holland,  q-uaranteed  to  Charles  \'I.  the  execu- 
tion of  his  pragmatic  sancti(jn  in  fa\-or  of  his  daughter,  to  Don 
Carlos,  the  possession  of  the  duchies  of  Parma  rmd  Piacenza  and 
the  succession  to  Tuscany.  iUit  in  s])ite  of  all  his  elTorts  peace  was 
broken,  in  conserjuence  of  the  death  of  Augustus  L.  hdector  of 
Saxony  and  King  of  T\)la.nd.  in  T733.  This  ])rince  had  been  raised 
to  the  throne  of  Poland  when  Charles  XIL  had  ceased  to  maintain, 
on  it  Stanislaus  Leczinski.  ddie  latter,  falher-indaw  to  Pouis  X\'., 
now  conceived  the  ho])c  of  reco\'ering  the  scepter  which  he  iiad 
lost.  He  proceeded  in  disguise  to  Warsaw  and  was  immediately 
proclaimed  king.  Put  the  c/arina.  Anna  of  Russia,  caused  t!ie 
election  of  I'h-ederick  Augustus,  the  son  of  Augustus  L  Tliis 
prince  guaranteed  the  ])ragmatic  sancticju  of  (duarles  \T.,  who  as- 
sisted him  with  troo])S,  wliile  h^rance  could  only  assist  Stanislaus. 
besieged  by  the  Russians  at  Dantzig.  \\ith  fifteen  hundred  French 
Soldiers.  Dantzig  ca])ilulated.  and  .Stanislaus  esca])ed  through  the 
midst  of  a  thou>and  ])erils.  I>ouis  X\'.  a\engvd  himself  un  the 
em])eror  by  seizing  Porraine.  He  al.<o  formed  an  alliance  with 
vSj)ain  and  Saxoy.  the  throne  of  which  had  been  abdicated  by  X'ictor 
-Amadens.  and  was  now  ])(isscs>ed  by  his  sou  C'harles  Panmanuel 
HP  P>erwick  and  N'illars  led  armies  into  Cierm.any  and  Italy. 
Jkrwick  took  the  fortress  of  Kehl,  antl  .Milan  fell  before  the  arms 
of  V'illars. 


236  F  R  A  N  C  E 

1734-1741 

The  Duke  of  Noailles  and  the  Marquis  of  Asfeld  replaced 
Berwick,  while  Marshal  Coigny  and  the  Count  of  Broglie  suc- 
ceeded Villars  in  the  command  of  the  army  of  Italy.  Don  Carlos, 
the  son  of  Philip  V.,  seized  Naples  and  Sicily  and  the  French 
troops,  commanded  hy  the  Marquis  of  Asfeld,  took  Philipsburg-  in 
the  very  face  of  Prince  Eugene.  These  successes  were  followed 
by  the  battle  of  Parma,  in  wdiich  Coigny  was  the  victor,  and  that 
of  Guastalla,  which  was  won  by  Marshal  Broglie.  The  peace  pro- 
posed in  1735,  when  Prince  Eugene  died,  was  concluded  on  the 
following  conditions.  Stanislaus  renounced  the  throne  of  Poland, 
receiving  in  exchange  the  duchies  of  Lorraine  and  Bar,  which 
were  to  revert  to  France.  The  Duke  of  Lorraine,  Francis  Etienne, 
received  in  exchange  for  those  duchies  that  of  Tuscany.  Don  Car- 
los, renouncing  his  claim  to  Naples  and  Sicily,  obtained  them  from 
the  emperor,  when  he  was  crowned  king.  Charles  VL  resumed 
possession  of  Milan  and  Mantu^,  and  France  formally  accepted 
his  pragmatic  sanction,  solemnly  engaging  to  defend  it.  This 
treaty  was  not  signed  until  1738,  and  w^as  not  agreed  to  by  Spain 
until  1739.  During  these  negotiations  great  disturbances  broke 
out  in  the  island  of  Corsica,  then  possessed  by  the  Genoese,  wdiich 
led  to  its  annexation  to  France.  The  cruel  tyranny  of  the  Genoese 
raised  a  revolt  in  this  island ;  the  Corsicans  appealed  for  assistance 
to  the  French,  wdio  in\'aded  the  island,  and  soon  afterwards 
evacuated  it  without  having  derived  any  advantage  from  their 
expedition. 

The  Emperor  Charles  VL  died  in  1740,  in  the  confident  hope 
that  his  daughter,  Maria  Theresa,  Queen  of  Hungary,  would  in- 
herit his  states.  But  he  had  scarcely  closed  his  eyes  when  a  crowd 
of  princes  put  forward  pretensions  to  his  vast  possessions.  Among 
these  the  foremost  were  Charles  Albert,  the  Elector  of  Bavaria, 
and  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  Augustus  IIL,  who  claimed  the  wdiole 
inheritance,  the  one  as  the  descendant  of  a  daughter  of  Ferdinand 
I.,  and  the  other  as  the  husband  of  the  eldest  daughter  of  the  Em- 
peror Joseiih.  The  King  of  Spain,  Philip  V.,  revived  absolute 
claims  to  the  kingdoms  of  Flungary  and  Bohemia,  Tlie  King  of 
Sardinia,  Charles  Emmanuel,  claimed  the  duchy  of  Milan,  and, 
finally,  Frederick  TL.  King  of  Prussia,  sought  to  obtain  Silesia, 
which  belonged,  he  said,  by  the  right  of  reversion,  to  the  electors 
of  Brandenburg.  This  prince  first  of  all  launched  his  battalitjns 
upon  this  province,  and  then  bade  Maria  Theresa  surrender  it  to 


L  O  m  S     X  V  237 

1741-1743 

him,  promisin.q"  her,  in  case  she  complied,  to  nfford  licr  liis  supjiort. 
Maria  Theresa  refused,  and  Frederick  thereupon  t(^ok  P.reslau, 
gained  in  1741  the  battle  of  Mohvitz.  and  rechiced  tlie  .e^reater  jiart 
of  Silesia  to  subjection.  France  was  solemnly  enn^a,q:c(l  to  supiuTt 
tlie  pragmatic  sanction  of  Charles  \'I.,  but  the  king's  council,  ])re- 
tending  to  fear  lest  the  TTouse  of  Austria  should  become  too  pow- 
erful, devised  a  shameful  subterfuge  bv  which  it  might  reconcile 
hostile  projects  with  its  engagements.  It  did  not  declare  war  di- 
rectly against  the  daughter  of  Charles  VT..  but  it  concluded  a  treaty 
with  the  Flector  of  I'lavaria.  the  principal  claimant  to  the  succes- 
sion of  Charles  and  the  ini])erial  crown.  Spain,  which  coveted  tlic 
Austrian  jiossessions  in  Italy,  entered  into  this  alliance,  which  was 
also  joined  successi\ely  by  the  kings  of  I'mssia,  Sardinia,  and  Po- 
land, ddie  ]iartition  to  be  made  was  thus  arranged:  Charles,  the 
Elector  of  Bavaria,  was  to  ha\e  the  imjicrial  ci'own,  t!ie  kingdom 
of  Bohemia,  upper  Austria  and  tlie  Tyrol;  tl'e  l-dcctor  of  .Saxony, 
IMoravia  and  up])er  Silesia — the  rest  of  this  latter  ]-)r(nince  was  t(~> 
be  given  to  the  King  of  J'russia;  rmd,  finally,  the  Austrian  posses- 
sions in  Italy  were  to  be  given  to  the  King  of  Sfiain,  as  an  estab- 
lishment for  the  Infante  Don  Thili|).  To  Maria  Theresa,  who  had 
married  Francis  of  Fnrraine,  Grand  Duke  of  Tu.sc.anv.  were  left 
Hungary,  the  L(nv  Cmmtrics  and  lower  Austria.  'Ihis  princess 
had  no  other  ally  than  George  Ik.  ]''dect()r  of  IIano\-er  and  King 
of  England.  Two  I'rench  armies,  each  forU-  thousand  strong, 
entered  Germany.  ^Fhe  war  commenced  by  great  successes  in  fa- 
vor of  the  allied  powers.  The  I'.lector  of  Ikixaria  and  the  k'rench 
threatened  A'ienna.  ^latn-ice  i^t  Saxony,  tlien  a  lieutenant-general 
in  the  service  of  I'rance,  and  Che\-crt  took  jiossession  of  Prague, 
where  the  P^lector  of  Ikuaria  was  i)r(X'laimed  King  of  Bohemia. 
A  month  afterwards  he  was  elected  emperor  at  l^-ankfort,  by  the 
name  of  Charles  W  \. 

In  the  meantime  Maria  Tliere-a  conx-olccd  the  states  of  Tlun- 
gary.  In  response  to  her  appeal,  the  ilungarian  nobles,  drawing 
their  swords  exclaimed,  "We  will  tlie  for  our  so\-ereign,  Alaria 
Theresa."  Prompt  rcsnlis  followed  tlie<e  woj-ds.  An  armv  was 
raised  wdiicli  retook  .Austria,  invaded  Pawaria,  forced  the  Mar(iuis 
of  Segur  to  capitulate  at  Pint/,  and  deprived  the  elector  c^f  all  his 
states.  The  King  of  Sardinia  had  .already  remninced  the  league, 
and  declared  in  favor  of  Maria  Theresa.  The  King  of  Brussia  in 
his  turn  treated  witli  her,  on  obtaiiuni'-  the  cession  of  Silesia  and 


238  FRANC  E 

1743-1744 

the  French  fonnd  themselves  reduced  in  Bohemia  to  thirty 
tliousand  men,  shut  in  between  two  armies.  Prague  was  blockaded 
by  the  Austrians,  and  it  was  uUimately  evacuated  by  the  French, 
who  retreated  to  Egra.  Marshal  Noailles  received  orders  to  watch 
on  the  Main  the  English  and  Hanoverian  armies  commanded  by 
Lord  Stair,  and  with  which  were  also  the  English  sovereign, 
George  II.,  and  his  son,  the  Duke  of  Cumberland.  The  English 
troops  were  sorely  pressed  by  famine  and  harassed  by  the  move- 
ments of  the  marshal,  who  attacked  them  at  Dettingen,  in  1743.  A 
sanguinary  engagement  ensued ;  the  marshal  was  compelled  to  re- 
treat and  the  English  remained  masters  of  the  field  of  battle.  In 
the  meantime  Alarshal  Broglie  had  been  unable  to  maintain  his 
position  on  the  Danube  against  Prince  Charles  of  Lorraine,  brother 
of  the  Grand  Duke  Francis.  Bavaria  was  evacuated,  and  it  was 
impossible  for  Marshal  Noailles,  after  Broglie's  retreat,  to  main- 
tain his  position  in  Franconia,  where  he  had,  during  tw^o  months, 
held  the  army  of  the  allies  in  check.  Such  was  the  unfortunate 
conclusion  of  the  campaign  of  1743,  which  carried  the  war  to  the 
frontiers  of  France. 

The  Emperor  Charles  VII.  no  longer  possessed  any  states, 
and  he  signed  a  treaty  in  1743  by  which  he  renounced  all  his  pre- 
tensions to  Austria,  engaging  himself,  as  well  as  the  empire,  to 
remain  neutral  during  the  continuance  of  the  war,  and  leaving  his 
hereditary  possession,  Bavaria,  until  a.  general  peace,  in  the  hands 
of  Maria  Theresa,  wdiom  he  had  endeavored  to  despoil,  and  who, 
by  the  Treaty  of  Worms,  strengthened  her  alliance  with  England 
and  the  King  of  Sardinia. 

The  year  1744  saw  the  whole  of  Europe  taking  part  in  the 
war.  Spain  united  her  navy  with  that  of  France,  and  the  two 
fleets,  under  Admiral  Court  and  Joseph  of  Navaro,  attacked  Ad- 
miral Matthews,  who  was  blockading  the  port  of  Toulon.  The 
result  was  a  drawn  battle.  Genoa,  despoiled  by  the  Treaty  of 
Worms,  declared  itself  against  Austria;  and  Frederick  IT.,  anxious 
with  respect  to  the  safety  of  Silesia,  promised  to  retake  the  field. 
According  to  the  plan  of  campaign  adopted  by  France,  the  chief 
effort  was  to  be  directed  against  the  Low  Countries,  and  a  great 
part  of  Flanders  had  already  been  taken,  when  information  was 
received  that  Prince  Charles  of  Lorraine,  at  the  head  of  eighty 
thousand  men,  had  crossed  the  Rhine  at  Spire,  that  he  had  taken 
the  lines  of  Wcissenburg  and  had  repulsed  Marshal  Coigny,  who 


LOTMS     XV  230 

1744-1747 

had  been  ordered  to  remain  on  the  defensixc  in  Alsarc.  Tt  wa-;  n^w 
necessary  to  c]ian,i^''e  tlie  plan  of  die  campaii^m.  and  ncmnlinL;!}' 
Marshal  Xoaillcs  moved  njmn  the  Khine.  TM-edericlc  now  made  a 
fresh  exi^editinn  into  Bohemia  .and  Mora\ia,  and  within  twelve 
days  had  forced  the  s'arrison  of  l^i-airuc,  con-i-^tinq"  (J  ei,i[^htecn 
thousand  men.  to  capitulate.  Prince  C'hark-s  left  the  Rhine  in  all 
haste,  hut  was  not  able  to  prevent  the  e\acu:ition  of  Rawaria  by 
the  Austrians  and  the  invasion  of  l'iedm"P.t  by  the  Prince  and 
Don  Philip.  Idle  emperor.  Charles  \'II..  t'or  a  third  time  entered 
^Munich,  his  capital,  worn  out  by  cha,L;T:n  and.  sickness,  anrl  died 
there  in  the  following  year  (1745).  llis  s^n.  Maximilian  Joseph, 
entered  into  nci^'otiation  with  ^Nfaria  ddien^sa.  and  promised  his 
support  to  the  Grand  Duke  Francis,  her  Imsband.  whom  she  h.oped 
to  raise  to  the  imperial  throne.  Louis  X\^,  irritated  at  this 
pretension,  continued  the  war. 

lie  resolved  to  conduct  the  campai!::;:n  with  the  greatest  activity 
in  Italy  and  Flanders  and  to  keep  his  army  in  (lermany  on  the  de- 
fensive. ^Marshal  Saxe  in\ested  Tournav,  which  was  defended  by 
a  Dutch  g'arrison.  and  an  Fn^iish  army,  under  the  conviirmd  of  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland,  made  i^reat  efforts  to  raise  the  sie.^e.  Tn  a 
battle  that  ensued  near  tlie  village  of  I'ontenoy,  in  1745,  the  Fn^iish, 
feebly  supported  by  their  Dutch  and  Austrian  auxiliaries,  were  com- 
pletely defeated.  Twelve  thous;rnd  lui_L;iish,  w(>unde(l  or  slain,  re- 
mained on  the  field  of  battle.  A  few  days  later  Tournay  was  taken, 
while  almost  the  whole  of  kdanders  was  occupied  and  its  principal 
towns  and  cities  became  the  jmm'zc  of  this  import;riit  \ictory. 

The  I-'rench  arms  were  no  less  fortunate  in  Ital\-  u.nder  !\rarshal 
Noailles  and  the  Infante  Don  Philiji.  .\11  the  Au;s1i'ian  p(j>sessions 
in  Italy  fell  into  the  h;inds  of  the  French,  with  the  exception  of  a 
few  fortresses,  and  the  Kin.L;'  of  Sai"dinia  t'ound  liim.-elf  reduced  to 
his  capital.  In  German}'.  In  '\ve\cr,  the  Austi'ians  made  head  against 
the  French,  and  reco\ered  h'rankf' ua,  where  on  Se[)tember  15  the 
Grand  Duke  I'^"ancis  was  proclaimed  emperoi".  The  King  of  l'ru>sia 
had,  three  months  pre\iously,  obtained  a  great  victiM"v  at  llohen- 
friedberg,  and  the  cession  of  the  ])ro\  ince  of  (Hat/,  which  was  an- 
nexed to  Silesia,  rendered  tliis  monarch  neutral.  Geiananv,  Flan- 
ders, and  Italy  coiuinued  to  be  tlu'  -comics  of  a  (k'<])erate  war.  ddie 
Austrians  drove  the  l''rench  from  Piedmont,  seized  Genoa,  ;md  in- 
vaded Ih'ox'cnce.  Genoa,  subjected  by  them  to  a  yoke  of  iron, 
heroically  threw  it  off,  and  when  it  was  again  besieged  P)oufllers  and 


240  FRAN  C  E 

1747-1748 

Richelieu,  flying  successively  to  its  assistance,  secured  its  safety. 
Marshal  Belleisle  forced  the  Austrians  to  evacuate  Provence,  and 
Maurice  of  Saxony,victorious  over  Prince  Charles  at  Rocoux,  made 
the  conquest  of  Brabant  (1747).  The  sufferings  of  this  war 
extended  also  to  the  east.  La  Bourdonnais,  governor  of  the  islands 
of  France  and  Bourbon,  besieged  and  took  Madras,  but  Du- 
pleix,  governor-general  of  the  establishments  of  the  French 
East  India  Company,  jealous  of  his  brilliant  colleague,  and  relying 
on  secret  orders  previously  received  from  France,  refused  to 
recognize  the  capitulation  which  La  Bourdonnais  had  signed,  and 
depriving  him  of  his  conquest,  took  possession  of  it  himself.  De- 
nounced by  Dupleix,  La  Bourdonnais  on  his  return  to  France  was 
loaded  with  chains  in  return  for  his  glorious  services,  and  was 
thrown  into  the  Bastile.  Dupleix  then  attempted  to  la^  the  founda- 
tions in  India  of  a  French  empire,  but  he  was  supported  neither  by 
the  company  nor  his  government,  and  had  to  succumb  after  he  had 
maintained  during  several  years  a  most  heroic  struggle  in  a  most 
unequal  conflict. 

A  brilliant  victory  was  gained  at  Lawfeld  in  1747  by  Maurice 
of  Saxony  over  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  which  opened  to  that  great 
general  the  road  to  liolland.  The  conquest  of  many  cities  was  the 
result  of  this  battle;  Bergen-op-Zoom  being  among  others  taken 
by  General  L5wentahl.  The  English,  on  the  other  hand,  inflicted 
terrible  blows  on  the  French  fleet,  which  was  destroyed  in  two  en- 
gagements, one  off  Cape  Finisterre  and  the  other  near  Belle-Isle. 
France  now  sighed  for  peace,  and  Maurice  of  Saxony,  as  the  best 
means  of  bringing  it  about,  hastened  to  invest  the  city  of  j\Iaestricht, 
whereupon  the  preliminaries  of  the  much-desired  peace  were  almost 
immediately  signed  at  Aix-la-Chapelle  (1748).  By  the  terms  of 
this  peace  the  King  of  Prussia  retained  possession  of  his  conquests ; 
Don  Philip,  the  brother  of  Don  Carlos,  obtained  the  duchies  of 
Parma,  Piacenza,  and  Guastalla,  and  finally,  the  English  recovered 
Madras  in  India,  and  in  the  New  World  gave  up  Louisburg  and 
Cape  Breton,  but  acquired  the  whole  of  Acadia.  France  restored 
Savoy  to  the  King  of  Sardinia,  the  Low  Countries  to  the  Empress 
Maria  Theresa,  and  to  the  Dutch  all  the  places  she  had  taken  from 
them.  By  this  war,  which  added  twelve  hundred  millions  to  the 
French  debt,  Prussia  alone  gained  a  considerable  increase  of  terri- 
tory and  influence,  and  suddenly  became  one  of  the  great  powers  of 
the  continent. 


LOT  IS     XV  J^H 

1748-1756 

Sonic  ^alutriry  edicts  were  issued  dnrincf  tlic  year^  wliicli  im- 
mediately followed  the  I'eace  of  Aix-la-Cliapelle.  .Xmoiii^  them  was 
the  famous  Edict  of  Alachault.  the  comptroller-general,  authorizing 
the  free  commerce  within  the  kingdom  in  grain,  which  had  hitherto 
been  subjected  to  a  tlKnisand  shackles  injurious  to  agriculture. 
Louis  XV.,  in  spite  of  his  shameful  debaucheries,  was  extremely 
scrupulous  in  respect  to  the  outward  observances  of  religion,  and 
took  an  acti\c  part  in  the  religious  ciuarrels  by  which  France  was 
agitated.  They  were  renewed  with  scandal  by  the  intolerance  of 
'M.  de  Beaumont,  Archbishop  of  Paris,  who  went  so  far  as  to  order 
that  extreme  unction  should  be  refused  to  dying  persons  suspected 
of  adhering  to  the  opinions  condemned  by  the  Bull  Unigenitus.  The 
Parlement,  supported  by  iniblic  opinion,  protested  against  this  ex- 
treme measure,  but  the  king's  council  enjoined  respect  for  the  bull 
as  the  law  of  the  church  and  the  state.  Violent  discussions  fol- 
lowed between  tlic  Parlement  and  the  archbishop,  antl,  on  the  refusal 
of  the  sacrament  to  a  nun,  the  temporalities  of  the  prelate  were 
seized.  The  king  ordered  the  Parlement  to  stay  its  prt)cecdings 
and  exiled  it.  In  its  place  a  rt)yal  court  was  established.  But  the 
Chatelct,  the  criminal  court  of  I'aris,  refused  to  acknowledge  its 
auth(.)rity,  the  adxocatcs,  attornc_\-s.  and  registrars  refused  to  obey 
it  and  the  course  of  justice  \\as  thus  interrupted  during  four  months. 
The  k'ing  ijercei\ed  at  length  that  he  must  effect  a  comi)romise,  and 
on  August  _\^,  1754.  amid  the  rejoicings  on  tlie  occasion  of  the 
birth  of  the  1  )ukc  (^f  Berry,  who  was  the  tmfortunate  Louis  XVL, 
the  Parlement,  recalled  to  Paris,  reentered  it  amid  the  acclamations 
of  the  po])u]ace.  But  fresh  collisions  soon  occurred  between  the  king 
and  clergy  on  the  one  hand  and  the  Parlement  on  the  other,  and  the 
latter  refusetl  to  register  the  edicts  for  fresh  taxes  on  the  breaking 
out  of  a  war  with  luigiand.  It  then  leagued  itself  wdth  the  other 
parlemcnts  of  the  kingdom  against  the  great  council,  endeavoring 
to  form  of  all  the  supei'ior  courts  of  the  French  magistracy  one 
single  body,  which  should  be  di\ided  into  different  classes,  and 
which  should  be  sufficiently  strong  to  resist  the  arbitrary  measures 
of  the  court.  ( )n  this  the  king,  on  December  13,  1756,  had  three 
edicts  registered,  the  i)rincipal  {)uri)ort  of  which  was  tci  renew'  the  in- 
junction of  respect  to  the  WuW  I'nigenitus,  to  deprive  e\'ery  magis- 
trate of  less  thrui  ten  years'  standing  of  a  deliberative  voice,  to  en- 
force the  registration  of  edicts  after  the  ])ermitted  remonstrances  ox 
the  Parlement,  and  to  suppress  the  major  portion   of  the  courts 


242  FRAN  C  E 

1750-1756 

of  inquests  and  requests,  the  usual  sources  of  the  most  violent 
measures. 

These  acts  of  royal  power,  and  especially  the  last,  struck  the 
Parlement  with  dismay.  The  people  encouraged  the  magistrates  in 
their  opposition  to  the  court,  and  became  exasperated  to  the  highest 
pitch  when  it  found  that  all  but  thirty-one  members  of  the  great 
chamber  had  given  in  their  resignation.  Such  was  the  state  of 
popular  feeling  in  the  capital  when,  on  January  5,  1757,  an  un- 
happy wretch  named  Damiens  slightly  wounded  the  king  at  the 
gates  of  the  palace  of  Versailles.  This  crime  was  attributed  to  the 
popular  excitement  caused  by  the  violent  opposition  of  the  Parle- 
ment, and  the  magistrates  trembled  at  the  extent  of  their  peril. 
Most  of  those  who  had  sent  in  their  resignations  hastened  to  offer 
their  services  at  Versailles  and  to  protest  their  devotion.  After  the 
trial  and  execution  of  Damiens,  Louis  XV.  endeavored  to  conciliate 
popular  feeling.  The  greater  number  of  the  magistrates  were  re- 
called, and  the  Parlement  resumed  its  habitual  functions.  The 
king's  mistress,  the  j\Iarc|uise  of  Pompadour,  who  was  dismissed 
from  the  palace  while  the  king  considered  himself  in  danger  from 
his  wound,  returned  in  triumph,  and  Alachault  and  Argenson  were 
dismissed  from  the  council. 

At  this  period  a  general  w^ar  had  already  broken  out  in  the  two 
worlds.  The  governments  of  France  and  England  had  long  since 
ceased  to  exchange  pacific  assurances,  while  their  agents  wer6  dis- 
puting in  Asia  and  America  for  the  possession  of  immense  territor- 
ies. Dupleix  by  his  talents  and  courage  had  rendered  France  the 
ruler  over  thirty  millions  of  men  occupying  the  Deccan  from  the 
River  Kristna  to  Cape  Comorin,  The  English  only  possessed  at 
that  time  the  city  of  Madras  with  its  environs,  and  a  few  fortresses, 
of  which  the  principal  was  Fort  Saint  David.  Dupleix  had  caused 
Chunda  Sahib  to  be  recognized  as  Nabob  of  the  Carnatic,  but  a 
single  city,  Trichinopoly,  had  declared  for  his  rival,  Mahomet  Ali, 
who  was  supported  by  the  English.  The  troops  of  Chunda  Sahib 
while  besieging  Trichinopoly  were  defeated  by  Robert  Clive,  after- 
wards Lord  Clive,  who  laid  the  foundation  of  the  English  empire 
in  India,  and  the  Xabob  himself  was  killed.  Dupleix  renewed  the 
struggle  for  supremacy  with  success,  but  the  French  East  India 
Company,  finding  its  dividends  decreasing,  refused  to  support  him 
in  his  efforts  to  win  an  eastern  empire  for  France,  while  the  French 
government,  being  anxious  to  avoid  war  with  England,  disavowed 


LOT  IS      XV  2t;3 

1754-1756 

his  proceed inj^s.  and  ultimately  recalled  liini  to  I'rancc.  Duplcix 
had  scarcely  (luitted  the  soil  of  India  when  an  ic^nimiininus  trcat\'. 
which  was  afterwards  ratified  in  lun'ope,  was  concluded  at  Madras 
by  the  coiniiiissidncrs  of  the  two  i^nvernments  in  OctohtT.  1754, 
which  stipulated  that  neither  (d*  the  comj^anies  sliould  interfere  in 
the  internal  politics  of  India  ;  that  .all  ])laces  and  territories  occupied 
by  them  should  he  restored  to  tlie  Grand  Mc^c^ul,  with  the  CAceptii  n 
of  those  which  they  had  se\erally  possessed  before  the  late  war,  and 
that  all  their  possession--  sliould  be  ])laced  on  a  fooliuL,'"  of  jjcrfect 
equality.  Thus  were  lost  in  a  t'ew  davs  the  fruits  of  the  pi-ofoun  1 
policy  and  astonishint^^  efforts  of  a  i;reat  man.  Eni^land  inherited 
in  the  Indies  all  the  inlluence  of  wliicii  h'rance  dei)rived  herself,  and 
she  could  now  freely  and  fearlessly  lay  in  the  East  the  foundation 
of  her  future  empire  there. 

The  state  of  the  thinq-s  was  not  more  ]:)ropitiMus  to  the  main- 
tenance of  peace  in  North  America,  where  during-  the  precedin;;-  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years  I'^nt;iand  and  h' ranee  had  fonn<led  considerable 
colonies.  On  the  one  hand,  th.e  boundaries  of  Acadia  ov  X^wi 
Scotia,  ceded  to  Engiand  by  the  Treaty  of  Aix  la-Ch;i])ellc,  \vere  ill 
defined,  and  on  the  other,  the  h^rench,  who  were  tiie  possessors  of 
Canada,  had  ascended  the  St.  Lawrence  as  far  as  th.e  lakes  lude  and 
Ontario,  and  now  wished,  by  niean>  oi  a  cliain  (jf  slroULj'  forts  on  the 
banks  of  the  Ohio  and  ".\Iississipj)i,  to  connect  ih.eir  esiablishmcnts 
in  Canada  with  those  which  they  had  in  Louisiana,  wiii'c  the  liritish 
colonists  of  Virginia  and  New  J'Jigland  demanded  ;.s  a  dependency 
of  their  territory  the  \"ast  district  to  ilie  south  of  the  St.  Lawrence, 
from  the  Alleghany  or  Blue  Mountains  to  the  banks  (»f  the  Ohio. 
From  these  riwal  pretensions  arose  pcr])etual  qu.a.n'els  between  the 
colonists  of  the  two  nations.  Alrcidy,  in  1754,  a  X'irginian,  Col- 
onel Georg"e  Washington,  ordered  to  di>lodge  tlie  Im-cucIi  from  h'ort 
Duquesne,  on  the  Ohio,  had  been  surriauided  by  a  superior  f' )ree  in 
a  place  named  (jreat  Meadows,  a.nd  had  been  forced  to  capiiul;!tc. 
Soon  after,  a  1.)odv  (>\  twel\-e  lunidred  troops  sent  by  the  Enghsii 
government,  under  the  command  of  General  Lratldock,  to  the  assist- 
ance of  V^irginia.  was  assailed,  in  1755,  while  on  its  way  t(^  attack- 
Fort  Duquesne,  by  a  troop  (-if  Frencdi  and  Indians,  tmd  Piraddock 
himself,  and  se\en  lunidred  "f  his  soldiers,  ])erished.  The  sea  was 
less  propitious  to  the  l-"reneh  arms.  The  squadron  of  Admiral 
Boscawen  attacked  a  I'rench  di\i~;ion  off  Xewfoundland,  and  i'M>k 
two  vessels,   and  shortly  afterwards,   by  an  order  of  the    I'-ngiisli 


244  FRANCE 

1756-1757 

admiralty,  the  English  ships  of  war  fell  upon  the  French  mercantile 
marine  and  took  three  hundred  merchant  vessels  without  any  pre- 
vious declaration  of  war. 

Thus  the  pacific  hopes  of  the  French  court  were  frustrated  in 
every  direction,  and  at  length  the  king  saw  how  he  had  sacrificed 
in  the  Indies  the  prospect  of  an  empire,  by  recalling  Dupleix,  and 
abandoning  that  great  man's  undertaking.  His  government  de- 
manded an  explanation  of  tlie  English  government  of  the  acts  of 
violence  of  which  its  navy  had  been  guilty  by  the  seizure  of  the 
French  merchant  ships.  Its  complaints  w^ere  treated  with  con- 
tempt, and  war  was  soon  afterwards  declared. 

The  war  which  broke  out  in  1756  between  England  and  France 
speedily  embraced  the  whole  of  Europe,  and  its  ravages  extended 
over  the  entire  world.  Maria  Theresa,  hoping  to  recover  Silesia, 
formed  an  alliance  with  the  Empress  of  Russia,  the  Elector  of  Sax- 
ony, who  was  also  King  of  Poland,  and  the  King  of  Sweden.  Louis 
XV.  was  gained  over  to  support  her  cause  by  the  inlluence  of 
Madame  de  Pompadour,  and  soon  all  the  forces  of  the  kingdom 
were  placed  at  the  disposal  of  Austria.  This  terrible  and  deplorable 
war,  known  under  the  name  of  the  Seven  Years'  War  ( 1756-1773), 
commenced  under  circumstances  favorable  to  France.  An  expedi- 
tion under  the  Duke  of  Richelieu  was  dispatched  to  conquer  Mi- 
norca, which  the  English  had  captured  during  the  War  of  Succession 
in  Spain.  Admiral  Byng  was  sent  with  an  English  fleet  to  the 
assistance  of  the  threatened  island,  but  when  he  arrived  off  Minorca 
the  French  were  besieging  the  formidable  citadel  of  St.  Philip, 
which  commands  Mahon,  the  capital  of  the  island,  and  its  magnifi- 
cent port.  The  garrison,  under  General  Blakeney,  made  an  obsti- 
nate defense,  hoping  to  be  succored  by  Byng,  but  the  English  ad- 
miral, being  worsted  in  an  encounter  with  the  French  fleet,  under 
Admiral  Galissonicre,  and,  losing  all  hope  of  being  able  to  relieve 
Minorca,  ^ibandoned  it  to  its  fate  and  sailed  with  his  squadron  for 
Gibraltar.  The  French  now  redoubled  their  efforts ;  the  garrison 
was  soon  compelled  to  capitulate  and  Minorca  was  won  for  France. 
Admiral  Byng's  defeat  was  imputed  to  treason,  and,  having  been 
tried  and  found  guilty,  he  was  shot. 

Frederick  II.  of  Prussia,  in  reply  to  the  new  league  formed 
against  him,  hastened  to  invade  Saxony,  and  took  Dresden,  from 
which  the  King  of  Poland  was  forced  to  fly.  After  defeating  the 
Austrians  at  Lobositz,  and  compelling  them  to  repass  the  Eger,  he 


ivj 


MADAME  DE  POMPADOUR 
**  The  most  Parisian  of  the  Parisiennes " 


L  ()  IM  S     XV  245 

1757-1758 

liaslcnctl  to  I'iriia.  where  the  Saxnn  army  was  blockaded,  and  com- 
pelled it  to  capitulate.  A  body  of  l"'rencli  troops,  under  Mar.^hal 
Estrees,  entered  Germany  and  threatened  the  electorate  of  Han- 
over, a  possession  of  the  Kini^  of  Eni:^land.  Estrees  vanquished 
Cuml^erland  at  1  lastcnbeck.  and  Marshal  Richelieu,  who  had  been 
sent  to  replace  Ivslrees.  forced  Cumberland  to  sign  the  capitula- 
tion of  Klosterseven  (  1757),  which  sent  one  portion  of  his  army 
home,  condemned  another  to  inaction,  atid  placed  the  electorate  of 
Hanover  at  the  mercy  of  1-Vance.  Frederick,  victorious  over  Prince 
Charles  of  ]_orraine  at  PraQue,  was  afterwards  vanquished  by 
Marshal  Daun  at  Kolin,  while  his  geiierals  were  everywhere  de- 
feated. 

Overwhelmed  by  these  reverses,  and  still  more  by  the 
capitulation  of  the  Kiiglish  at  KUisterseven,  surrounded  by  several 
armies  in  Saxony,  and  held  in  check  by  Marshal  Daun.  Frederick 
appeared  t(j  Ijc  without  .any  resource,  but  he  escaped  the  marshal 
with  admirable  skill,  and  boldly  went  to  reconnoiter  the  b^rench 
army  comm;uidcd  by  Soubise,  and  that  of  the  imperialists,  which, 
united,  were  achancing  to  surround  him.  P)y  a  series  of  able 
nianeuxers  he  induced  Soubise  to  believe  that  he  was  anxious  to 
a\-oid  them,  and  drew  him  un  to  make  an  attack  on  liim.  when  en- 
camped in  an  advantageous  position  at  Rossbach.  in  1757.  dhe 
b'rench  and  imperialists  were  totally  routed,  and  a  great  part  of  the 
atlack'ing  forces  lied  without  lighting.  Frederick  took  no  repose 
after  this  unhoped-for  victory,  but,  hurrying  into  Silesia,  which  was 
rduKjst  lost.  wtin.  against  Prince  Charles  and  Daun.  the  bloody  bat- 
tle of  Leuilien.  near  Jlrcslau.  'i"he  Fnglish  then  Ijrdke  the  cai)itu- 
latifju  of  Klostersex'en,  and  the  Hanoverian  army  reappeared  under 
b'ertlinand  oi  P.runswick.  its  new  commrmder.  who  asserted  that  he 
had  niitliing  to  do  with  this  military  conventiuu.  The  Count  of 
Clcrmiint  Inst  in  tlie  folKjwing  year  the  battle  of  Crevelt,  against 
b^rdinand  (;f  P.runswick.  and  w.as  superseded  by  the  .\Pu-quis  of 
Contades:  Soubise.  and.,  under  him.  the  Duke  of  Broglie.  partly  re- 
paired, however,  at  Sonderhau-^en  and  at  Lutterberg.  the  disasters 
of  this  bloddy  Ijatlle.  and  the  l'"rench  reentered  Hanover;  but  in 
1759  Brunswick.  \an(iuished  b}'  the  Duke  of  Broglie  at  Bergen, 
vanquished  in  his  turn  the  Marshal  Contades  at  Minden  in  West- 
phalia. F^'edcrick  then  fought  with  varied  success  against  the 
Austrians  ruid  Russians.  The  most  niurdert)us  battle  of  this  cam- 
paign was  that  of  Zorndorf,  where  thirty-three  thousand  men,  of 


246  F  R  A  N  C  E 

1758-1761 

whom  twenty-two  thousand  were  Russians  and  eleven  thousand 
Prussians,  remained  on  the  field  of  battle. 

Pitt;,  afterwards  Lord  Chatham,  was  at  this  time  at  the  head 
of  the  English  Cabinet.  He  directed  his  attention  to  the  colonies 
and  gave  fresh  vigor  to  maritime  operations.  Quebec  was  taken 
by  the  English  in  1759  and  in  the  following  year  the  wdiole  of 
Canada  was  snatched  from  the  grasp  of  France.  In  Africa  the 
French  lost  Senegal,  and  in  1757  Chandernagore  on  the  Ganges  was 
taken  from  them.  Count  Lally,  sent  by  Louis  XV.  to  avenge  the 
French  defeats  in  India,  seized  Fort  St.  David,  on  the  coast  of 
Coromandel  and  razed  its  defenses,  but  differences  which  arose  be- 
tween him  and  the  commander  of  the  naval  squadron,  the  Count  of 
Ache,  were  fatal  to  the  interests  of  France.  England  was  at  this 
time  threatened  by  the  descent  upon  her  coasts  of  two  French 
armies,  under  Chevert  and  the  Duke  of  Aiguillon,  vvdiich  were  to  be 
protected  by  two  French  squadrons.  The  first  of  these,  how- 
ever, which  was  commanded  by  De  la  Clue,  was  destroyed  by 
Admiral  Boscawen  off  Cape  St.  Vincent,  while  two  months  later 
the  second,  under  ^Marshal  Conflans,  underwent  the  same  fate 
within  sight  of  the  coast  of  Brittany. 

The  campaign  of  1760  was  glorious  in  Germany  for  Marshal 
Broglie,  who  vanquished  the  hereditary  Prince  of  Brunswick  at 
Korbach,  near  Cassel,  for  the  capture  of  which  he  was  preparing. 
One  of  the  corps  of  his  army,  commanded  by  the  Marquis  of  Cas- 
tries, took  up  its  position  near  to  Rhumberg,  on  the  river  bank,  and 
being  attacked  by  the  prince,  gained  a  brilliant  victory  which  de- 
livered Wesel.  Frederick  now  escaped  in  Saxony  from  the  numer- 
ous armies  which  surrounded  him,  and  vanquish.ing  successively 
Laudon  at  Liegnitz,  and  Daun  at  Torgau,  retook  Silesia.  I'ondi- 
cherry,  whose  inhabitants  the  governor,  Lally,  had  alienated  by  his 
pride  and  despotism,  fell  in  the  course  of  this  year  into  the  hands  of 
tlic  English.  The  Count  of  Ache,  who  was  called  upon  to  relieve 
this  ])lace,  did  not  appear,  and  seven  hundred  soldiers  were  all  that 
remained  for  its  defense.  The  town  was  taken  and  its  fortifications 
razed,  and  Lally,  returning  to  France,  w^as  accused  of  treason  and 
paid  for  his  defeat  with  his  life. 

The  Duke  of  Choiseul,  w^ho  w^as  now  minister  of  war,  offered  to 
make  ])eace  with  George  TIL,  who  had  succeeded  George  II.  on  the 
English  tlirone,  but  his  overtures  were  rejected  by  the  advice  of  Pitt. 
He  then  endeavored  lo  secure  the  support  of  Spain,  where  Charles 


LOUIS     XV  247 

1761-1764 

III.  now  reigned,  and  on  Aui^ust  i6,  1761,  liis  exertions  were 
crowned  by  the  signature  of  the  celebrated  Family  Treaty,  which 
stipulated  that  the  various  branches  of  the  House  of  Bourbon 
should  reciprocally  assist  each  other  and  declared  that  the  enemies 
of  any  one  branch  should  be  regarded  as  the  enemies  of  the  others. 

On  July  16,  some  days  before  the  signature  of  the  Family 
Treaty,  Marshals  Broglie  and  Soubise  had  been  beaten  by  the  Prince 
of  Brunswick,  at  1^'ilingshausen,  near  the  Lippe,  through  a  want  of 
concert  between  them.  The  fault  was  attributed  to  the  Duke 
of  Broglie,  who  was  banished  and  superseded  by  old  Marshal 
Estrees. 

In  the  meantime,  closely  pressed  by  the  imperial  army  and  the 
Russians,  Frederick  was  driven  to  bay,  when  the  death  of  the  Em- 
press Elizabeth,  on  January  2,  1762,  released  him  from  his  perilous 
position.  Elizabeth  left  her  throne  to  Peter  III.,  who  was  a  pas- 
sionate admirer  oi  the  King  of  Prussia,  and  wdio  undoubtedly  would 
have  aided  him,  but  he  was  dethroned,  after  a  reign  of  six  months, 
by  his  own  wife,  who  assumed  the  crown  by  the  name  of  Catherine 
II.  Some  days  afterwards  the  unfortunate  Peter  III.  was  assas- 
sinated. The  em])rcss  declared  herself  neutral  and  the  results  of  the 
campaign  of  1762,  the  last  of  this  bloody  war,  left  each  party  in  the 
same  state  as  before.  England,  France,  Spain  and  Portugal  then 
signed,  on  February  10,  1763,  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  which  was 
disgraceful  to  France.  This  power  ceded  to  England  a  por- 
tion of  Louisiana,  Canada,  and  the  island  of  Cape  Breton.  Eng- 
land retained  Senegal,  in  iVfrica.  In  the  East  Indies  each  nation 
resumed  possession  of  the  territories  it  had  held  previous  to  the 
commencement  of  the  w'ar.  The  island  of  Minorca  and  Port  St. 
Philip  \vere  restored  to  England,  and  France  gave  up  to  King 
George  his  electorate  of  Hanover.  I'eace  was  at  the  same  time 
signed  between  the  Empress  Maria  Theresa,  the  Elector  of  Saxony, 
and  the  King  of  Prussia.  Frederick  retained  Silesia  and  Glatz,  by 
]^romising  his  support  to  the  son  of  Maria  Theresa,  the  Archduke 
Joseph,  who  v^as  selected  as  King  of  the  Romans,  and  succeeded  to 
the  empire  on  August  18,  1765. 

The  last  years  of  this  war  were  signalized  by  the  abolition  of 
the  order  of  the  Jesuits  in  France.  Their  order  was  suppressed 
throughout  the  kingdom  by  an  edict  in  1764,  which  gave  them 
permission  to  reside  in  France  only  as  simple  private  persons.  All 
the  Bourbon  courts  declared  themselves  at  the  same  time  against 


248  FRANCE 

1764-1770 

the  Jesuits,  who  were  successively  driven  from  Portugal,  Spain, 
Naples,  and  Parma,  and  the  total  suppression  of  the  order  was  ulti- 
mately procured  at  Rome  from  Clement  XIV.  (1773),  who  thus 
destroyed  the  firmest  supports  of  the  rights  of  the  Papal  court  of 
Rome.  Prussia  and  Russia  were  the  only  states  who  gave  the 
Jesuits  an  asylum  and  protection. 

Madame  de  Pompadour  died  in  1764  and  was  soon  afterwards 
succeeded  as  mistress  to  Louis  XV.  by  a  woman  of  low  origin, 
afterwards  known  as  the  Countess  of  Barry.  In  the  course  of  the 
next  four  years  the  king  lost  the  dauphin,  the  dauphine,  his  father- 
in-law,  Stanislaus  Leczinski,  and  the  cjueen,  Maria  Leczinski,  who 
only  survived  her  father  two  years.  By  the  death  of  Stanislaus 
Leczinski,  Lorraine  had  become  incorporated,  in  1766,  with  France, 
and  Corsica  was  also  added  to  the  French  crown  two  years  later, 
with  the  right,  however,  of  regulating  its  own  taxes. 

The  Seven  Years'  War  added  thirty-four  millions  of  annual 
interest  to  the  national  debt.  In  each  year  the  expenses  exceeded 
the  receipts  by  thirty-eight  millions,  and  the  taxes,  which  had  enor- 
mously increased  during  the  war,  were  not  lessened  at  the  peace. 
The  Parlement  of  Paris  endeavored  to  procure  some  relief  for  the 
public  burdens,  that  of  Besangon  refused  to  register  the  royal  edicts, 
and  many  of  the  opposing  magistrates  were  exiled. 

Disturbances  broke  out  in  various  provinces,  and  especially  in 
Brittany,  where  the  Duke  of  Aiguillon,  governor  of  the  province, 
rendered  himself  odious  by  his  stern  .and  despotic  administration. 
The  parlement  of  Rennes  took  cognizance  of  the  complaints  which 
were  brought  against  him,  but  they  could  obtain  no  satisfaction  from 
the  court,  which  lent  a  ready  support  to  the  duke.  In  defiance  of 
justice  and  the  efforts  of  the  Parlement  of  Paris  and  the  Duke  of 
Choiseul,  who  espoused  the  cause  of  the  magistracy,  the  opponents 
of  Aiguillon  were  sent  into  exile.  The  Parlement  protested  in 
vain  against  this  arbitrary  punishment,  and  the  Duke  of  Aiguillon 
acted  with  redoubled  violence.  He  even  had  the  boldness  to  present 
for  acceptance  by  the  states  of  Brittany  a  regulation  which  would 
have  deprived  them  of  the  right  of  fixing  and  levying  their  own 
taxes.  This  produced  a  general  outcry,  and  an  address  presented 
to  the  king  caused  the  recall  of  the  Duke  of  Aiguillon  and  the  re- 
establishment  of  the  parlement  of  Brittany  in  its  integrity. 

The  first  act  of  the  restored  parlement  was  to  commence  a 
prosecution  of  the  Duke  of  Aiguillon,  whom  it  accused  of  abuse  of 


L  O  U  I  S     X  V  249 

1770-1771 

power  and  of  enormous  crimes.  The  king,  in  accordance  with  the 
suggestions  of  Chancellor  Maupeou,  first  ordered  that  the  Duke  of 
xViguillon  should  be  tried  by  the  court  of  peers  and  then,  justifying 
the  duke,  determined  that  the  whole  process  against  him  should  be 
annulled.  The  parlement  then  issued  a  decree  which  attacked  the 
duke's  honor.  The  king  annulled  it.  In  1770,  the  Duke  of 
Choiseul,  the  most  powerful  of  the  supporters  of  the  parlement,  was 
disgraced  and  banished  to  his  estate  at  Chanteloup,  at  the  instiga- 
tion of  ]\Iadame  du  Barry.  His  dismissal  was  followed  by  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  Duke  of  Aiguillon  to  the  ministry  of  foreign  af- 
fairs, and  had  been  preceded  by  that  of  Abbe  Terray  as  comp- 
troller-general of  the  finances.  These  two  men  formed,  together 
with  Chancellor  Maupeou,  a  triumvirate  celebrated  for  the  revolu- 
tion which  it  effected  in  the  judicial  order.  On  January  19, 
1 77 1,  the  members  of  the  parlement  were  ordered  to  resume 
their  functions,  and  in  consequence  of  the  unanimous  refusal  of  the 
magistrates  to  do  so,  their  offices  were  confiscated  and  they  were 
sent  into  exile.  jMaupeou  nominated  in  their  place  councilors  of 
state  and  masters  of  requests,  and  then  formed  an  assembly  which 
had  less  resemblance  to  a  judicial  body,  composed  of  the  members 
of  the  great  council  and  men  taken  from  the  various  bodies  in 
different  classes,  who  henceforth  composed  the  parlement.  Two 
edicts  were  immediately  issued  which  abolished  the  old  parlement 
and  established  the  new.  The  public  w-rath  burst  forth  against  a 
minister  who  tore  from  France,  in  the  persons  of  her  independent 
magistrates,  the  last  guarantees  against  despotic  power.  All  the 
princes  of  the  blood,  with  a  single  exception,  and  thirteen  peers  of 
the  kingdom  lodged  a  protest  against  acts  in  which  they  saw  the 
overthrow  of  the  laws  of  the  state.  The  provincial  parlements 
made  courageous  remonstrances,  especially  those  of  Normandy  and 
Brittany,  raised  complaints  to  which  ]\Iaupeou  replied  by  Icttrcs  de 
cachet,  which  sent  the  murmurers  either  into  exile  or  to  the  Bastile. 
Maupeou,  however,  overcame  all  resistance  by  promising  the  gratui- 
tous administration  of  justice,  the  abolition  of  the  sale  of  offices, 
and  the  revisal  of  the  criminal  laws.  At  the  close  of  1771,  in  the 
space  of  less  than  a  year,  the  new  judicial  arrangements  were  in 
force  over  the  whole  of  the  kingdom. 

While  Maupeou  thus  violently  altered  the  French  magisterial 
system.  Abbe  Terray  ordered  an  arbitrary  reduction  of  the  dividends 
payable  by  the  state,  which  was  in  fact  a  shameful  act  of  bank- 


250  FRANCE 

1771-1774 

ruptcy.  The  taxes  were  at  the  same  time  raised  to  an  exorbitant 
amount,  and  Terray  destroyed  the  most  glorious  achievement  of 
Alachault — the  law  which  authorized  the  free  circulation  of  corn 
throughout  the  kingdom. 

The  duke  of  Aiguillon,  minister  for  foreign  affairs,  and  the 
third  member  of  this  triumvirate,  at  the  same  time  allowed  three 
powders  to  make  a  serious  attack  on  the  rights  of  peoples  and  the 
balance  of  power  in  Europe.  Strong  in  her  amity  with  Frederick 
11.  and  Maria  Theresa,  and  the  supine  indolence  of  Louis  XV., 
Catherine  II.  signed  in  1772,  with  the  courts  of  Prussia  and  Vienna, 
a  treaty  for  the  dismemberment  of  Poland.  This  preliminary  di- 
vision deprived  the  country  of  a  third  of  its  territory,  and  led  to 
other  treaties  which  effaced  Poland  from  the  number  of  independent 
nations. 

Louis  XV.,  utterly  apathetic  in  the  midst  of  these  serious 
events,  continued  to  present  to  the  world  an  example  of  shameful 
debauchery  and  complete  indifference  to  scandal.  He  had  Madame 
du  Barry  publicly  presented  at  court,  and  gave  her  a  distinguislicd 
place  at  the  table  at  wdiich  were  present,  for  the  first  time  after  their 
marriage,  his  grandson,  the  dauphin,  and  his  young  spouse,  Marie 
Antoinette  of  Austria.  At  length,  worn  out  by  ennui,  weary  of 
pleasure,  and  disgusted  w-ith  all  things,  he  died,  1774,  of  the 
small-pox  in  the  sixty-fourth  year  of  his  life,  and  after  a  reign 
of  fifty-nine  years,  which  is  one  of  the  most  deplorable  recorded 
in  history. 


PART  IV 
THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.     1774-1799 


Chapter   XV 

THE    CONSTITUTIOxNAL    MONARCHY.     1 774-1791 

tOUIS  XVI.  ascended  the  throne  on  May  10,  1774,  at  the 
age  of  twenty.  His  morals  were  pure,  his  intentions 
-^  upright  and  g-enerous,  but  to  complete  inexperience  he 
added  a  great  want  of  decision  of  character.  He  chose  as  his  first 
minister  Maurcpas,  who  recalled  the  old  parlements.  but  knew  not 
how  to  make  them  submit  to  useful  and  efficient  reforms.  They 
were  reinstalled  on  November  12  and  the  minister,  for  the  sake 
of  procuring  for  the  royal  authority  a  fleeting  popularity,  raised 
up  against  it  serious  dangers  in  the  future. 

Maurepas,  anxious  for  the  support  of  public  opinion,  replaced 
Abbe  Terray  by  Turgot,  a  man  already  famous  for  his  reforms, 
as  comptroller-general  of  the  finances.  In  the  following  year 
Lamoignon  of  Malesherbes,  a  magistrate  of  the  highest  merit,  and 
a  friend  of  Turgot,  was  placed  over  the  king's  household,  and  en- 
trusted with  the  Icttrcs  dc  cachet,  no  abuse  of  which  was  to  be 
feared  while  they  remained  in  his  hands.  The  other  influential 
members  of  the  council  were  Hiie  of  ]\lir(imesnil,  keeper  of  the 
seals,  the  Count  of  Saint  Germain,  minister  of  war,  and  Ver- 
gennes,  minister  for  foreign  affairs.  Turgot  planned  extensive 
reforms  and,  devoting  all  his  care  to  the  promotion  of  the  happiness 
of  the  people,  undertook  the  suppression  of  a  vast  number  of  servi- 
tudes and  burdensome  privileges.  He  wished  to  make  the  privileged 
classes  contribute  to  the  taxes  in  the  same  proportion  as  the  Third 
Estate  and  procured  the  issue  of  edicts  which  replaced  the  burdens 
that  weighed  lieavily  on  the  low-er  orders  by  a  rate  equally  levied 
upon  all  classes,  reestablished  free-trade  in  grain  throughout  the 
whole  interior  of  the  kingdom  and  abolished  apprenticeships  and 
corporations.  The  privileged  classes  burst  forth  into  complaints 
and  murmurs,  the  parlements  refused  to  register  these  wise  edicts 
and  it  was  necessary  to  make  use  of  the  arbitrary  power  of  the 
crown  to  enforce  them. 

Soon,  jealous  of  the  popularity  enjoyed  by  Turgot,  and  of  his 

2,53 


254  FRANCE 

1777-1778 

influence  over  the  king",  Maurepas  himself  aroused  enemies  against 
the  two  ministers  and  alarmed  the  king  with  respect  to  the  dangers 
that  might  arise  from  the  spirit  of  the  new  system.  Malesherbes 
sent  in  his  resignation,  but  Turgot  waited  to  be  disgraced.  The 
reforms  w^ere  abandoned.  Clugny,  formerly  governor  of  St.  Do- 
mingo, and  then  Taboureau  replaced  successively,  but  without  suc- 
cess, this  great  minister.  After  them  the  general  management  of 
the  national  finances  fell  into  the  hands  of  Necker,  a  Genevcse 
banker,  who  succeeded  Taboureau  in  1777.  Necker  made  good 
faith  and  probity  the  basis  of  his  system,  which  consisted  in  the 
attempt  to  reduce  the  expenditure  to  a  level  with  the  receipts,  to 
make  the  national  taxes  serve  to  defray  the  national  expense  in 
ordinary  times,  to  have  recourse  to  loans  only  when  circumstances 
imperiously  required  them,  and  to  have  the  taxes  assessed  by  the 
provincial  assemblies.  Unfortunately  the  war  with  England 
forced  France  to  resort  to  loans  and  rendered  her  financial  situation 
extremely  critical. 

England,  overburdened  by  debt  after  the  peace  in  1763,  had 
endeavored  to  make  her  American  colonies  contribute  to  the  taxes, 
and  this  the  colonists,  who  were  unrepresented  in  the  British  Par- 
liament by  which  the  taxes  were  regulated,  refused  to  do.  An  open 
rupture  soon  took  place  and  both  sides  resorted  to  arms.  At 
length  the  congress  of  the  revolted  colonies  published,  in  1776, 
an  act  of  independence,  by  which  it  constituted  itself  a  free  power 
and  independent  of  the  English  rule.  Diplomatic  agents  were  im- 
mediately dispatched  to  the  various  courts  of  Europe,  to  obtain  the 
recognition  of  the  independence  of  the  American  colonies,  and  Ben- 
jamin Franklin  was  selected  by  his  country  to  solicit  the  support  of 
France  against  England.  Louis  XVI.  hesitated  for  some  time  to 
enter  upon  hostilities,  but  at  length,  in  1778,  after  the  memorable 
battle  at  Saratoga,  in  which  the  British  General  Burgoyne,  at  the 
head  of  six  thousand  men,  was  compelled  to  lay  down  his  arms, 
France  concluded  a  treaty  of  alliance  and  commerce  with  the  Amer- 
icans. Whereupon  England  recalled  her  ambassador,  and  war  was 
resolved  on. 

A  fleet  of  twelve  ships  of  the  line,  commanded  by  the  Count  of 
Estaing,  made  a  vain  attempt,  in  concert  with  Washington's  army, 
to  take  Newport,  in  Rhode  Island,  one  of  the  English  arsenals.  On 
July  27,  1778,  in  the  same  year,  the  French  Admiral  Orvillicrs 
encountered  Admiral  Keppel  at  the  entrance  of  the  Channel.     The 


CO  N  S^r  ITUTION  A  L     MONAllCIIY  255 

1778-1781 

two  fleets,  after  fighting"  for  a  whole  day,  parted  to  refit,  without 
having  lost  a  single  vessel  on  either  side.  This  hattle  was  at  first 
celebrated  in  France  as  a  brilliant  victory.  France  concluded  with 
Spain  in  the  following  year  an  alliance  which  d(»ubled  its  naval 
strength.  Admirals  Orvillicrs  and  Don  Louis  Ccjrdova  threatened 
a  descent  upon  England,  while  the  Count  of  Estaing  sei/cd,  in  the 
.'Vntilles,  the  islands  of  St.  Vincent  and  Granada.  In  concert  with 
General  Lincoln  he  made  a  rash  attack  upon  Savannah,  but,  being 
repulsed  with  loss,  he  raised  the  siege  and  returned  to  France. 

The  war  raged  in  every  quarter  of  the  globe.  Tn  Africa  the 
French  troops  seized  upon  Senegal,  Gambia,  and  Sierra  Leone,  but 
on  the  other  hand  the  French  establishments  in  Bengrd  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  English,  and  Pondichcrry  had  to  yield,  forty  days  after 
the  trenches  had  been  opened  against  it. 

In  the  following  year,  1780,  England  found  the  number  of  its 
enemies  still  further  increased.  Russia,  Sweden,  and  Denmark 
signed  a  declaration  of  armed  neutrality,  by  which  it  was  agreed 
that  neutral  powers  should  be  at  liberty  to  sail  from  port  to  port 
and  on  the  coasts  of  the  belligerent  nations;  and  the  merchandise 
belonging  to  neutrals  should  be  free  from  captiu'e;  if  not,  northern 
powers  announced  that  they  would  enforce  respect  for  their  declara- 
tion by  warfare,  if  necessary.  England,  after  having  made  a  futile 
attempt  to  obtain  the  alliance  of  Holland,  declared  war  upon  the 
Dutch.  Idle  majority  of  the  French  ministry  was  at  this  time  com- 
posed of  men  of  merit  and  talent.  \^ergeiincs  made  the  kingdom 
respected  abroad  ;  Segur  and  Castries,  soldiers  worthy  of  high  es- 
teem, carried  on  the  war  with  energ}-,  and  Xeckcr  afforded  the  king 
tlie  means  of  continuing  it.  His  celebrated  "  coniplc  rendu"  of 
January,  1781,  claimed  an  excess  of  ten  millions  of  receipts  over  the 
expenditure;  but  Maurepas,  offended  bv  the  unanimous  praises 
lavished  on  Xeckcr.  maligned  him  to  the  king,  and  the  eminent 
fniancier,  perceiving  that  he  no  longer  j)ossessed  his  sovereign's  con- 
fidence, sent  in  his  resignation,  which  \\as  accepted  on  ^Lay  19. 

In  July,  1780,  a  l-'rench  army  iiiniibering  six  thousand  men 
had  disembarked  at  Rhode  Island  under  the  Count  of  Rochanibeau. 
The  English,  however,  succeeded  in  blockading  the  port  at  which 
the  French  had  disembarked,  and  thus  till  the  close  of  the  year 
rendered  their  assistance  almost  useless.  General  (kites  was  beaten 
at  Camden,  in  South  Carolina,  by  Lord  Cornwallis,  and  the  whole 
of  that  province  was  consequently  lost.      France  now  advanced  to 


^56  FRAN  C  E 

1781-1782 

the  United  States,  on  the  simple  word  of  Congress,  the  large  sum  of 
sixteen  million  francs,  and  the  French,  under  Admiral  de  Grasse,  set 
sail  for  the  Antilles,  in  March,  1781.  Rochambeau  had  now  joined 
Washington,  and  the  powerful  assistance  rendered  by  France  en- 
abled the  latter  to  bring  the  campaign  and  the  war  to  a  close  by  the 
investment  of  Yorktown,  in  w'hich,  after  having  become  enfeebled 
with  incessant  conflicts  with  the  American  troops  under  Greene, 
the  English  forces  under  Cornwallis  had  entrenched  themselves. 
The  investment  was  completed  by  land,  by  Washington  and  Ro- 
chambeau, on  September  28,  while  the  sea  was  shut  against  the 
English  by  the  fleet  under  Admiral  de  Grasse.  On  October  19, 
1 78 1,  Cornwallis  found  it  necessary  to  capitulate,  and  surrendered, 
with  eight  thousand  men. 

The  Duke  of  Crillon  having  captured  Minorca  in  1781,  under- 
took in  the  following  year  the  siege  of  Gibraltar,  which  was  closed 
against  Admiral  Howe  by  the  fleets  of  France  and  Spain.  Floating 
batteries  were  constructed  for  the  purpose  of  bombarding  the 
fortress,  w'hich  was  defended  by  the  brave  General  Eliott,  but  they 
were  set  on  fire  by  a  storm  of  shells  and  redhot  shot.  A  few  days 
after.  Admiral  Howe,  taking  advantage  of  the  dispersion  of  the 
French  fleet  by  a  gale,  succeeded  in  entering  the  port  and  revictualed 
the  fortress,  the  siege  of  which  was  abandoned.  In  the  same  year 
a  naval  engagement,  which  ended  disastrously  for  France,  took 
place  in  West  Indian  waters,  near  the  island  of  St.  Lucia,  between 
the  French  and  English  fleets  under  De  Grasse  and  Rodney.  The 
battle  took  place  on  April  12,  1782,  and  lasted  ten  hours.  Rod- 
ney, favored  by  the  wind,  boldly  broke  through  the  French  line, 
and  by  this  able  maneuver  secured  the  victory.  The  French 
fought  with  the  utmost  heroism,  but  the  admiral's  flagship,  the 
Ville  de  Paris,  attacked  by  seven  vessels,  was  compelled  to  strike, 
and  De  Grasse  himself  was  taken  prisoner.  Out  of  the  fleet  of 
thirty-three  vessels  six  were  lost  in  the  course  of  the  action,  two 
others  foundered  on  the  following  day,  and  five  which  were  cap- 
tured l)y  the  enemy  had  sufl'ered  so  greatly  that  they  sank  before 
reaching  the  British  ports ;  among  these  was  the  Ville  de  Paris. 

India  had  been  during  four  years  the  scene  of  a  sanguinary 
war.  The  English,  in  1778,  had  taken  Pondicherry  from  the 
French.  Their  allies,  Hyder  Ali  Khan,  Sultan  of  Mysore,  and  his 
son  Tippoo  Sahilj,  who  had  marched  too  late  to  the  relief  of  the 
French  settlement,  attacked  the  English  possessions  in  the  Carnatic, 


CONSTITUTION  A  I.     :M  O  N  A  R  C  IT  Y  ^.'57 

1782-1783 

from  which  they  were  compelled  to  withdraw  hy  Sir  Kyrc  Cix^te 
after  having  (Icaiq  much  injury. 

The  French  fleet,  the  arrival  of  which  had  hecn  hjv.v;  announced, 
appeared  at  length  at  the  commencement  of  1782  on  the  coast  of 
Coromandel.  It  was  commanded  by  SufYren,  one  of  the  greatest 
seamen  of  whom  France  can  boast.  His  presence  reanimated  the 
hopes  of  Hyder  Ali,  who  still  meditated,  by  means  of  a  league  be- 
tween all  the  native  princes,  the  expulsion  of  the  English  from 
Hindustan.  His  death  put  a  sudden  end  to  these  projects;  the 
formidable  Sultan  of  ]\Iys(^re  expired  at  the  close  of  1782,  leaving 
his  throne  to  his  son  Tippoo  Sahib.  Suffren  in  the  meantime  pur- 
sued his  glorious  career  on  the  coast  of  Coromandel,  Tippoo  Sahib 
seconding  his  operations  by  land.  After  vanquishing  the  English 
General  Matthews,  he  hastened  to  the  relief  of  Gondelour,  besieged 
by  the  English,  and  encountered,  within  sight  of  the  city,  the  fleet 
of  Sir  Edward  Hughes.  Although  Suffren  had  but  fifteen  vessels 
against  eighteen,  he  gained  the  advantage,  and  Gondelour  was 
saved.  Peace  was  at  length  signed  at  Versailles,  September  3, 
1783,  between  England  on  the  one  part,  and  France,  Spain,  and 
the  United  States,  w-hose  independence  was  recognized  by  it,  on 
the  other.  England  restored  to  France  in  America  the  isles  of  St. 
Lucia  and  Tobago,  and  in  India,  Pondicherry,  and  guaranteed  to 
her  in  Africa  the  possession  of  the  river  Senegal  and  its  depend- 
encies; and  on  the  coast  of  Alalabar,  ]\Iahe  and  an  establishment  at 
Surat.  England  did  not  conclude  peace  with  Tippoo  Sahib  until 
the  following  year. 

Maurepas  died  shortly  after  the  disgrace  of  Xecker.  Tlie  defi- 
cit of  the  treasury  had  increased  during  the  war,  and  it  was  in  vain 
that,  for  the  purpose  of  decreasing  it,  Louis  XVI.  gave  an  example 
by  relinquishing  a  portion  of  his  household  and  his  guard,  for  no 
one  followed  it.  Joly  of  Fleury  and  Ormesson  succeeded  Necker 
in  turn  without  being  able  to  discover  a  remedy  for  this,  and  Calonne 
followed  them,  in  1783,  in  the  management  of  the  finances.  This 
man  adopted  a  system  directly  opposed  to  that  of  Xecker,  endeavor- 
ing to  strengthen  the  government  credit  by  prodigality.  A  lavisli 
expenditure  of  money  at  first  supported  his  system,  and  punctuality 
in  payments  for  a  certain  time  deceived  capitalists,  but  after  the 
peace  he  made  numerous  loans,  and  exhausted  credit  and  then,  when 
forced  to  allow  the  enormous  dilTerence  which  existed  between  llie 
expenditure  and  receipts,  he  insinuated  that  the  fault  was  due  to 


£58  FRANCE 

1783-1787 

the  proceedings  of  his  predecessor,  Necker,  who  was  exiled.  The 
refusal  of  the  parlements  to  register  either  tax  or  loan  edicts 
forced  Calonne  to  resort  to  reform  measures.  He  proposed  to 
increase  the  revenus  of  the  state  by  abolishing  the  privileges  of  the 
clergy  and  nobility  in  matters  of  taxing.  Knowing  that  the  par- 
lements w^ould  not  register  such  edicts  unless  pressure  were  brought 
to  bear  upon  them,  he  sought  to  win  the  support  of  public  opinion 
by  laying  his  plans,  in  1787,  before  an  assembly  of  notables  and 
asking  their  support.  This  body,  composed  of  members  of  the 
privileged  orders,  was  naturally  unwilling  to  be  taxed.  It  denied 
the  necessity  of  increased  taxes,  and  in  the  struggle  that  followed 
Calonne  was  driven  from  office. 

He  was  succeeded,  in  1787,  by  Lomenie  of  Brienne,  Archbishop 
of  Sens,  who  adopted  most  of  the  measures  proposed  by  Calonne  to 
the  notables.  This  assembly  separated  after  having  approved  the 
creation  of  provincial  assemblies,  to  superintend  taxation  in  their 
several  provinces,  and  devote  attention  to  the  public  works  and  the 
improvement  of  agriculture.  These  assemblies,  elected  by  the  three 
orders,  but  containing  a  double  number  of  representatives  from  the 
Third  Estate,  carried  on  their  functions  successfully  from  1787  to 
1790,  when  the  new  division  of  France  into  departments  took  place. 
The  tax  edicts  rejected  by  the  notables  were  presented  to  the  Parle- 
ment  of  Paris,  which  refused  to  register  them,  and  declared  the 
States-General  alone  competent  to  decide  in  the  matter  of  taxes. 
Registration  was  enforced,  however,  by  the  government,  but  at  the 
same  time  Louis  XVI.  promised  the  annual  publication  of  an  ac- 
count of  the  finances,  and  the  convocation  of  the  States-General 
before  five  years.  The  magistrates  protested  against  the  violence 
to  which  they  had  been  subjected,  but  the  government  would  not 
yield.  The  Parlement  was  exiled  to  Troyes  on  August  15,  but  re- 
called on  September  20,  on  the  tacit  understanding  that  it  would 
consent  to  edicts  creating  a  series  of  gradual  and  successive  loans 
up  to  the  amount  of  four  hundred  millions.  A  royal  session  was 
appointed  for  November  19.  The  votes  were  taken,  and  the  oldest 
magistrates  were  in  favor  of  the  registration  of  the  last  edicts.  It 
appeared  certain  that  there  would  be  a  majority  in  favor  of  the 
edicts,  when  the  new  keeper  of  the  seals,  Lamoignon,  persuaded 
Louis  XVI.  to  order  the  edicts  registered  by  his  express  command. 
The  king  did  so  in  spite  of  all  remonstrance  and  then  left  the 
chamber.      When    tlie   king   had    departed,    the    agitation    of    the 


CONS  T  I  T  II  T  I  O  X  A  L     M  0  \  A  R  C  1 1  Y  259 

1787-1788 

assembly  became  extreme,  and  tlie  session  was  terminated  by  a 
decision  that  the  Parlement  wonld  take  no  part  in  the  illegal 
registration  of  the  edicts  relative  to  the  loans.  l"hc  king  ordered 
that  this  decision  shonld  be  erased  from  the  registers,  but  its  protest 
was  reiterated  by  the  Parlement,  wliich  was  supported  by  public 
opinion  and  the  whole  of  the  Frencli  magistracy  in  its  struggle  with 
the  government. 

Brienne  perceived  that  it  was  only  possible  to  overcome  the 
resistance  of  the  parlements  by  suppressing  those  courts,  and  in 
conjunction  with  Lamoignon,  the  keeper  of  the  seals,  he  per- 
suaded the  king  to  agree  to  a  plan  which  destroyed  the  political 
authority  of  the  magistracy.  By  this  scheme  an  assembly  of  the 
principal  persons  of  the  kingdom  was  to  be  constituted,  endowed 
with  all  the  authority  of  the  plenary  courts  of  the  time  of  Charle- 
magne. This  court  was  to  regulate  the  general  p(.'lice  laws,  and 
the  edicts,  which  were  no  longer  to  be  submitted  to  tlie  parlements, 
the  judicial  functions  of  which  were  henceforth  to  be  limited.  The 
magistrates  heard  of  this  threatening  project  v."ith  the  greatest  in- 
dignation, invoked  the  fundamental  although  unwritten  laws  of  the 
kingdom,  demanded  the  regular  convocation  of  the  States-General, 
protested  against  arl)itrary  imi)risonments.  and  decreed  their  own 
inviolability.  Brienne  immediately  obtained  from  the  king  an 
order  for  the  arrest  of  two  of  the  magistrates  v.ho  were  most  prom- 
inent in  their  opposition,  Duval  of  Ej^remesnil  and  ]\Iontsabert. 
Their  arrest  excited  a  universal  indignation,  but  on  ^May  8  the 
edicts  in  cjuestion  were  registered  and  a  court  possessed  of  plenary 
powers  was  established.  The  excitement  of  public  opinion  con- 
tinued to  increase.  It  was  declared  that  the  members  of  the  new 
tribunal  were  connected  with  the  court  and  that  to  bestow  upon  it 
the  right  of  registration  was  equivalent  to  placing  the  ])ublic  for- 
tunes solely  at  the  mercy  of  the  nn'nistcrs.  The  provinces  of  Brit- 
tany, Beam  and  Dauphinc  distinguished  themselves  among  all  by 
the  energy  of  their  resistance.  The  parlement  of  Rennes  protested, 
and  was  threatened  with  forced  dissolution.  Ci\il  war  a]:)pearcd 
imnn'nent  in  Jjrittau}-  and  the  disturbances  in  Beam  were  no  less 
serious.  The  mountaineers  descended  armed  int(3  the  town  of 
Pan,  forced  the  gates  of  the  Palace  o{  ju-tice,  which  had  been  closed 
by  the  king's  (ji'ders,  and,  terriiiod  by  tlicir  threatening  cries,  the 
governor  himself  entreated  the  parlement  to  assemble.  In 
Dauphine  the  disorders  were  e\en  greater.     All  the  provinces  were 


260  FRANCE 

1788 

in  a  state  of  agitation  and  almost  everywhere  the  privileged  classes, 
for  the  sake  of  preserving  their  own  privileges,  gave  to  the  masses 
of  the  people  a  dangerous  example  of  resistance  and  insurrection. 
Brienne,  not  knowing  what  measures  to  adopt,  convoked  an  assem- 
bly of  the  clergy  and  asked  of  it  pecuniary  assistance,  which  was 
refused  wnth  a  strongly  worded  declaration  against  the  plenary 
court.  Then,  perceiving  that  the  deficit  in  the  treasury  increased 
day  by  day  and  that  there  Avere  no  means  of  replenishing  it,  he  en- 
deavored to  seduce  the  nation  by  promises,  and  to  acquire  a  right  to 
its  gratitude  by  issuing  a  decree  (August  8,  1788),  directing  the 
assembling  of  the  States-General  for  May  i,  1789,  and  suspend- 
ing until  then  the  action  of  the  plenary  court.  These  concessions 
w^re  received  without  thanks  and  only  increased  the  determina- 
tion with  which  what  he  refused  was  demanded.  The  minister, 
to  maintain  his  position,  now  descended  to  the  lowest  expedients. 
He  seized  the  funds  of  the  Invalides,  issued  government  paper 
for  the  state  payments,  and  vainly  endeavored  to  conceal  a  bank- 
ruptcy by  this  disastrous  measure.  Brienne  was  resolved,  at  any 
price,  to  remain  in  power,  but  a  court  intrigue  overthrew  him. 
Jealous  of  his  influence  with  the  queen,  Madame  de  Polignac  de- 
clared herself  his  enemy,  and  the  Count  of  Artois,  the  king's  second 
brother,  demanded  his  dismissal.  The  king  dismissed  Brienne,  in 
1788,  and  recalled  Necker.  The  parlements  resumed  the  exercise 
of  their  functions,  and  the  edicts  were  annulled. 

Necker,  having  resumed  the  direction  of  affairs,  was  enabled, 
through  the  confidence  he  enjoyed  with  capitalists,  to  procure  suf- 
ficient funds  for  the  opening  of  the  States-General.  But,  skillful 
as  he  was  as  a  financier,  this  minister  was  not  equal,  as  a  politician, 
to  the  task  of  grappling  with  the  perilous  circumstances  by  wdiich 
France  was  now  surrounded.  He  long  hesitated  to  grant  to  the 
Third  Estate  a  double  representation — that  is  to  say,  a  number  of 
deputies  equal  to  those  of  the  two  privileged  orders  together — and 
this  vast  question  being  undecided,  became  in  every  portion  of  the 
kingdom  the  subject  of  the  most  vehement  discussions.  It  excited 
universal  agitation,  inflamed  the  passions  of  the  middle  classes,  and 
enabled  those  who  had  the  greatest  interest  in  obtaining  the  double 
representation  of  the  Third  Estate  to  acquire  the  greatest  influence 
over  public  opinion.  Such  w^as  the  state  of  things  in  France  when, 
on  Septeml)er  27,  1788,  the  Parlement  of  Paris  registered  the 
edict    which    convoked    the    States-General,    but    decided    that    the 


C  O  N  S  T  I  T  V  T  I  O  N  A  L     M  O  X  A  R  C  II  Y  261 

1788-1789 

Slates-General  shoukl  be  called  acconling-  to  the  form  used  at 
the  time  of  their  last  assembly  in  1614.  The  deputies  at  that 
period  were  ctpial  in  number  for  each  class,  and  as  they  £;'ave  their 
votes,  not  individually,  but  1)y  order,  the  result  of  the  votes  was 
necessarily  in  favor  of  the  privilcg^ed  classes.  Xecker's  system  was 
to  make  the  latter  contribute,  in  proportion  to  their  fortunes,  to  the 
expenses  of  the  state;  and  to  procure  the  adoption  of  this  system  it 
w-as  necessary  that  the  deputies  of  the  Third  Estate  should  be  double 
in  number  to  those  of  the  representatives  of  the  two  other  orders, 
and  that  the  votes  should  be  taken  individually.  The  public  had 
declared  almost  universally  in  favor  of  this  o])inion,  and  the  clause 
added  by  Parlement  to  the  edict  on  September  27  deprived  it 
at  once  of  almost  all  its  popularity.  The  nobility  itself  became 
divided  into  two  parties,  of  which  one  energetically  su])ported  the 
cause  of  the  Third  Estate.  The  other,  which  numbered  in  its  ranks 
the  Duke  of  Orleans  and  most  of  the  gentlemen  who  had  fought  in 
America,  formed  in  all  the  principal  towns  associations  for  the  pur- 
pose of  securing  the  triumph  of  this  cause.  "J'he  moment  of  the 
crisis  drew  near  when  the  king  convoked  the  second  assembly  of  the 
notables,  to  which  was  submitted  the  question  as  to  how  the  States- 
General  should  be  convoked.  It  commenced  its  sittings  on  No- 
vember 9,  1788,  and,  as  had  been  the  case  with  the  preceding 
one,  divided  itself  into  seven  committees,  one  of  wdiich  alone — that 
presided  over  by  Monsieur  the  king's  brother — declared  in  favor  of 
the  double  representation  of  the  Third  Estate.  At  last  Louis  XVI. 
decided  that  the  deputies  of  the  Third  Estate  should  be  e(]ual  in 
number  to  those  of  the  other  orders  together,  but  left  the  question 
of  the  general  method  of  deliberation  in  al)cyance.  Hiis  declara- 
tion was  received  with  favor,  although  it  left  the  ([uestion  of  the 
greatest  importance  undecided.  The  Third  Estate  now  perceived 
its  strength.  It  reckoned  with  good  reason  on  the  support  of  a 
portion  of  the  nobility  and  the  clergy,  and  foresaw  that  it  would 
be  able  to  control  the  method  of  deliberation. 

The  States-General  commenced  their  session  on  May  4,  1789, 
at  Versailles.  The  first  and  most  important  question  to  be  decided 
was,  whether  the  votes  should  be  received  by  orders  or  in- 
dividually. By  the  adoption  of  the  lirst  method  the  deputies  of 
the  Third  Estate  would  have  lost  the  advantage  of  their  numbers. 
The  court,  most  of  the  nobility,  and  many  of  the  clergy  considered 
it  of  the  highest  importance  that  each  order  should  vote  separately 


262  FRAN  C  E 

1789 

on  all  political  questions,  but  the  opinions  of  some  of  the  nobles, 
and  all  the  cures  among-  the  deputies  of  the  clergy,  were  very  similar 
to  those  of  the  Third  Estate,  and  the  unanimity  of  opinion  and 
numerical  strength  of  the  latter  gave  it  an  immense  advantage.  The 
latter  proceeded  to  verify  their  powers,  after  having  invited  the 
nobility  and  clergy  to  verify  theirs  in  common  with  them,  and  then, 
at  the  instigation  of  Sieyes,  they  constituted  themselves  on  June 
17  a  national  assembly.  This  assembly,  consisting  of  the  deputies 
of  the  Third  Estate,  sanctioned  the  temporary  levying  of  existing 
taxes,  consolidated  the  public  debt,  nominated  a  committee  of  "  sub- 
sistences," and  proclaimed  the  inviolability  of  its  members.  The 
general  excitement  was  extreme  when,  on  June  20,  a  royal  session 
was  announced  and  under  pretense  of  necessary  preparations  an 
order  was  given  to  close  the  hall  in  which  the  States  held  their  sit- 
tings. The  violent  measures  proposed  by  the  court  were  now  evi- 
dent, and  the  deputies  resolved  to  prevent  their  being  carried  into 
execution.  They  followed  their  president,  Bailly,  to  a  neighboring 
tennis  court,  and  there,  with  one  exception,  unanimously  swore,  with 
raised  hands,  that  they  would  not  separate  until  they  had  bestowed 
a  constitution  upon  France.  Two  days  afterwards  the  majority  of 
the  clergy  joined  the  deputies  of  the  commons  in  the  church  of  St. 
Louis,  where  they  had  provisionally  assembled.  Terrified  at  the 
immense  power  over  public  opinion  acquired  by  the  Third  Estate 
by  its  first  proceedings,  the  party  opposed  to  Necker  inspired  Louis 
XVI.  with  its  own  terrors  and  persuaded  him  to  annul  the  decrees 
of  the  assembly,  to  command  the  separation  of  the  orders,  and  to 
decide  alone  upon  all  the  reforms  which  were  to  be  effected  by  the 
States-General. 

Such  were  the  preludes  to  the  royal  session  which  took  place 
on  June  23.  Tlie  king  was  received  by  a  portion  of  the  deputies 
in  silence.  He  annulled  the  acts  of  the  Third  Estate  and  com- 
manded the  orders  to  me'et  on  the  following  day  in  their  separate 
halls.  In  spite  of  the  promises  contained  in  a  declaration  of  thirty- 
five  articles,  conceding  many  of  the  demands  made  by  the  coheirs, 
the  Idiird  Estate  saw  in  this  action  of  the  government  only  an 
attempt  to  protect  the  privileged  classes  and  to  prevent  the  forma- 
tion of  a  constitution  that  should  be  a  real  check  upon  the  arbitrary 
power  of  the  ministers.  After  the  departure  of  the  king  the  mem- 
bers of  the  nobility  and  most  of  the  clergy  withdrew,  but  the 
commons  retained  their  seats.     The  assembly  persisted  in  maintain- 


C  0  N  S  T  I  T  IT  T  I  0  \  A  L     M  O  N  A  R  C  H  Y  263 

1789 

ing  all  its  rcsokuii^ns  and,  nii  the  motion  of  Mirabcau,  decreed  the 
inviolability  of  ;ill  its  members,  l-'rom  thenceforth  the  royal  au- 
thority was  at  an  end.  The  ,e;reater  number  of  the  deputies  of  the 
clergy  resumed  their  seats  in  the  assembly.  The  nobility  persisted 
in  their  refusal  to  do  so,  in  spite  of  the  remonstrances  of  Count 
Clermont  of  Tonnerre  and  the  UKire  vigorous  exhortations  of  Lally- 
Tollendal,  the  son  of  the  unfortunate  General  Lally.  These  men 
wisely  advocated  a  concession  to  popular  feeling  and  the  necessity 
of  granting  to  the  Third  Estate  and  the  millions  that  its  members 
represented  the  proportion  of  rights  wdiich  justly  belonged  to  them. 
Th.e  nobility,  however,  refused  to  listen,  but  on  June  25  forty-se\en 
members  of  the  nobility,  with  the  Duke  of  Orleans  at  their  head, 
joined  the  Third  Estate;  the  majority  of  the  clergy  had  presented 
itself  in  the  hall  of  the  Estates  on  the  preceding  day.  The  fusion 
of  the  three  orders,  how^ever,  in  a  single  assembly  was  not  yet  com- 
plete, and  as  this  circumstance  produced  an  extreme  state  of  agita- 
tion, Necker  again  advised  union.  The  (jueen  and  many  intiuential 
persons  supported  his  views.  Louis  XVI.  yielded,  and  after  June 
27  the  clergy,  the  nobility,  and  the  Third  Estate  formed  only  one 
assembly,  which  was  indiscriminately  named  the  national  and  later 
the  constituent  assembly.  The  deliberations  were  henceforth  gen- 
eral and  the  distinction  between  the  orders  became  extinct. 

All  moral  authority  having  passed  ivmn  the  monarch  to  the 
assembly,  the  advisers  of  Louis  X\T.  imprudently  persuaded  him  to 
have  recourse,  too  late,  to  force.  Troops  were  assembled  in  large 
bodies  around  Versailles;  Necker  was  exiled;  Akirshal  Droglie, 
Galissonniere,  the  Duke  of  La  \'auguyon,  Baron  Breteuil,  and  the 
intendant  k^oulon  were  appr)inted  mim'stcrs.  All  of  them  were  im- 
bued more  or  less  with  the  views  of  the  court.  The  approach  of  the 
troops  and  the  exile  of  Necker  produced  a  great  feeling  of  excite- 
men.t  in  ]\iris.  Camilla  Dcsmoulins.  a  young  and  ardent  ]^aris 
la\\}cr,  harangued  the  populace  in  the  garden  of  the  Palais  Royal 
and  exhorted  them  to  rush  to  arni<.  The  crowd  replied  with  accla- 
mations, and  he  ]iroj)ose(l  that  a  patriotic  color  should  be  adopteil — 
green,  the  symbol  of  hope.  'Jdie  orator  fastened  a  green  sprig  in 
his  hat  ;md  his  example  was  followed  by  the  crowd.  It  was  the  tirst 
C(jckade  of  the  rexolution.  Idience  the  mob  ran  to  a  sculptor's 
studio  to  ol)tain  the  busts  of  Necker  and  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  which 
were  veiled  with  cra])e  and  Ijorne  through  the  streets  of  Paris.  .A 
tumult  took  place,  the  troops  refused  to  act,  the  barriers  were  set 


264  FRANCE 

1789 

on  fire,  and  many  houses  were  pillaged.  Tlie  national  assembly, 
after  liaving-  in  vain  attempted  to  bring  about  an  understanding  be- 
tween itself  and  the  court,  unanimously  decreed  the  responsibility  of 
the  nunisters  and  all  the  king's  councilors,  of  whatever  rank  they 
might  be,  voted  expressions  of  sympathy  with  Necker  and  the  other 
disgraced  ministers,  placed  the  public  debt  upon  the  protection  of 
French  honor,  and  constituted  itself  a  permanent  assembly.  The 
Archbishop  of  Vienne  was  its  president,  and  Lafayette  was  elected 
its  vice  president.  The  populace  of  Paris,  excited  by  the  hostile 
attitude  of  the  court,  was  eager  to  follow  up  its  first  successes,  and 
demanded  arms.  A  committee  of  electors  sitting  at  the  Hotel  de 
Ville  organized  the  municipal  guard,  which  it  raised  to  the  number 
of  forty-eight  thousand  men  and  gave  it  a  blue  and  red  cockade,  the 
colors  of  the  city.  "To  the  Bastile!  to  the  Bastile!"  became  the 
cry  of  the  excited  populace,  and  the  siege  of  the  Bastile  was  imme- 
diately commenced.  The  French  guards  revolted,  aided  the  mob 
with  cannon,  and  secured  the  capture  of  the  citadel,  the  feeble  gar- 
rison of  which  surrendered.  The  people,  bearing  on  their  pikes 
the  bleeding  trophies  of  their  triumph,  returned  with  immense  up- 
roar to  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  and  speedily  signalized  their  victory  by 
assassinations.  The  movement  spread  throughout  France.  Every- 
where the  municipal  guards  were  organized,  and  the  middle 
class  assumed  control  of  the  city  governments.  France  had  armed 
itself  to  support  the  assembly.  The  representatives  of  the  royal  gov- 
ernment in  the  provinces  abandoned  their  posts  and  a  period  of 
decentralization,  accompanied  by  a  certain  amount  of  disorder, 
followed. 

The  court  at  first  regarded  the  insurrection  of  Paris  as  a  riot. 
It  was  proposed  to  dissolve  the  assembly,  and  to  give  to  Marshal 
Broglie,  the  commander  of  the  army,  unlimited  power.  Subse- 
quently the  king  gave  way  before  the  serious  aspect  of  aiTairs,  and 
proceeded  in  person  to  the  assembly.  The  deputies  at  first  remained 
perfectly  mute  in  the  monarch's  presence,  but  wdien  he  said  that  he 
was  but  one  w-ith  the  nation  and  that  the  troops  should  be  w-ith- 
drav/n,  loud  applause  burst  forth,  and  the  assembly,  rising,  recon- 
ducted the  king  to  his  palace.  Louis  XVL,  perceiving  the  necessity 
of  appeasing  the  capital,  announced  that  Necker  should  be  recalled 
and  that  he  would  proceed  on  the  following  day  to  Paris,  where 
Bailly  had  been  appointed  mayor  and  Lafayette  commander  of  the 
civic  guard.       It   was   by   them    that   the   monarch    w^as    received. 


CONSTITUTIONAL     MONARCHY  i2f)5 

1789 

Louis  entered  the  Hotel  tie  Villc  unaccompanied  by  guards,  received 
the  cockade  of  the  city  amid  the  acclamations  of  the  multitude,  and 
did  not  return  to  Versailles  until  he  had  sanctic^ied  the  acts  of  the 
people.  But  to  sanction  such  acts,  and  to  recognize,  as  he  did, 
authorities  elected  without  royal  warrant,  whose  avowed  ofTice  it 
was  to  limit  his  own  power,  was  in  itself  to  abdicate.  And  now 
commenced  the  first  emigration.  The  Count  of  Artois,  the  king's 
second  brother,  the  Prince  of  Conde.  the  Prince  of  Conti,  and  the 
PoHgnac  family  gave  the  example  and  left  France.  The  return  of 
Necker  to  Paris  was  a  triumph  for  him,  but  it  was  also  the  last  day 
of  his  prosperity.  He  endeavored  to  save  Bezenval,  the  second  in 
command  of  the  troops,  and  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the  people ; 
and,  by  proposing  an  amnesty,  at  once  lost  all  his  popularitv. 
Thenceforth  he  endeavored,  but  in  vain,  to  struggle  against  the 
revolution.  The  insurrectionary  movements  in  Paris  extended  to  the 
provinces.  Everywhere  the  people  formed  themselves  into  munici- 
palities and  national  guards.  Armed  men  pillaged  and  burned  the 
castles  of  the  nobility  in  all  parts  of  France.  The  assembly  hoped 
to  calm  this  fury  and  in  part  to  renK)ve  its  cause  bv  abolishing  tlie 
most  detested  privileges,  and  proceeded  to  effect  this  reform  on  the 
celebrated  night  of  August  4.  Viscount  Noailles  gave  the  signal 
for  sacrifices  by  proposing  the  redemption  of  the  feudal  rights 
and  the  suppression  of  villein  services.  Abuses  and  privileges 
were  suppressed;  votes  were  passed  for  the  redemption  of  the  tithes 
and  their  conversion  into  a  pecuniary  tax,  for  the  suppression  of 
exclusive  hunting  rights,  the  abolition  of  seigneurial  justices,  the 
sale  of  magisterial  oftlces.  and  the  inc(|uality  of  taxation.  On  this 
memorable  night  all  Frenchmen  were  rendered  e(iual  in  the  eye  of 
the  law  and  all  were  declared  eriually  admissible  to  all  offices  and 
employments,  without  any  other  distinction  than  that  which  might 
be  bestowed  b}'-  virtue  or  talent. 

Royal  power,  practically  suspended,  was  at  this  time  largely 
exercised  by  the  national  assembly.  It  adopted  a  declaration  of  the 
rights  of  man,  drawn  up  in  the  spirit  of  the  celebrated  declaration  of 
the  i\merican  congress,  which  served  as  an  introduction  to  the  con- 
stitution. Louis  XVI.  hesitated  to  accept  it,  aiul  only  did  S(^  witli 
regret.  The  assemblv  decreed  the  permanence  of  the  legislatixe 
body,  and  it  was  resolved  that  it  should  consist  of  a  single  chamber. 
It  then  remained  to  be  determined  w  hat  part  in  the  legislature  should 
be  possessed  by  the  king — whether  he  should  have  the  power  of  re- 


266  FRANCE 

1789 

jecting  the  resolutions  of  the  assembly,  or  merely  of  expressing  a 
suspensive  veto.  This  question  was  the  subject  of  the  most  violent 
debates.  Paris  was  still  in  a  state  of  great  agitation.  The  assem- 
bly of  electors,  which  had  formed  a  provisional  municipality,  had 
been  superseded.  A  hundred  and  eighty  members,  nominated  by 
the  districts,  had  constituted  themselves  legislators  and  representa- 
tives of  the  commune,  while  the  committees  of  the  sixty  districts  of 
Paris,  from  whom  they  received  their  authority,  also  assumed  a 
legislative  power  and  one  superior  to  that  of  their  proxies.  The 
mania  for  public  discussions  had  become  general ;  clubs  of  every 
description  were  formed  throughout  the  city;  the  discussion  on  the 
royal  veto  created  the  most  violent  excitement.  The  ministry,  ter- 
rified at  the  menacing  demonstration  of  the  multitude,  advised  the 
king  to  abandon  the  unlimited  veto  for  the  suspensive  veto.  The 
assembly  then  decided  that  the  refusal  of  the  monarch's  sanction 
should  have  no  effect  beyond  two  sessions,  and  then  despoiled  the 
throne  of  the  little  that  remained  of  its  former  prestige.  The  king 
was  advised  to  seek  a  refuge  in  the  midst  of  his  army,  but  he  re- 
fused to  do  so.  The  regiment  of  Flanders,  however,  was  brought 
to  Versailles  and  the  adversaries  of  the  nevv  regime  felt  some  re- 
turn of  confidence.  The  officers  of  the  newly-arrived  regiment  were 
feted  by  the  ofiicers  of  the  king's  bodyguard  in  the  theater  of  the 
chateau,  in  the  presence  of  the  king  and  queen.  Healths  were 
drunk  to  the  royal  family  and  it  was  believed  that  the  tricolored 
cockade,  the  national  emblem,  was  trampled  under  foot.  Such 
was  the  famous  banquet  of  October  i,  the  consequences  of  which 
were  to  be  fatal  to  the  royal  family.  When  this  was  known 
in  Paris  it  occasioned  a  most  formidable  rising  of  the  masses.  A 
multitude  of  women  marched  to  Versailles  on  October  5,  and  a 
conflict  had  already  taken  place  between  it  and  the  royal  bodyguard, 
when  Lafayette  arrived  at  the  head  of  the  national  guard  of  Paris, 
and  by  his  presence  restored  order.  Early  on  the  morning  of 
the  6th,  however,  some  of  the  populace  forced  their  way  into  the 
palace,  killed  some  of  the  king's  bodyguard  and  broke  into  the 
chamber  of  the  f[ueen,  from  which  she  had  just  fled.  Lafayette, 
aided  by  the  guards  of  ]"'aris,  succeeded  in  preventing  the  commis- 
sion of  any  furtlicr  crimes.  The  multitude  demanded  with  loud 
cries  that  the  king  sliould  appear,  and  Louis  XVT.  showed  himself 
on  the  balcony  of  tlie  chateau.  Tlie  crowd  ap])lau(lcd.  but  velic- 
mently  demanded  that  the  king  should  set  out  for  Paris.     Louis 


CONS  T  I  T  V  T  I  O  N  A  L     M  0  X  A  R  C  U  Y  .'^0' 


1789 


XVI.  yielded  to  tliis  demand  alsc  and  on  the  same  day  proceeded 
thither  with,  his  family.  c-CMricd  by  his  g-uards  a:!'!  accompanied 
by  the  national  j^uards  and  the  armed  jiopulace  of  Paris.  The 
principal  resnlt  of  this  e\"ent  Avas  to  place  the  conrt  at  the  mercy 
of  the  mnltitnde,  and  it  filled  with  horror  and  affri£:^ht  all  those 
who  dreaded,  with  g"Oi)d  reason,  a  mob  c^ovemment,  and  made  many 
members  of  the  national  assemblv  abandon  it,  and  endeavor  to  raise 
the  ]iro\'inces.  to  which  they  severally  bc-lons^cil.  against  the  national 
assembly.  Idiis  led  the  assembly,  which  considered  that  the  prov- 
inces Avere  too  \ast  and  independent  to  be  trnsted  with  self- 
government,  and  recjnired  to  be  l^ronght  nnder  a  nniform  mode  of 
administration,  to  ad(~)pt,  in  December,  1780.  a  plan  for  the  division 
of  France  into  eighty-three  departments,  of  almost  eqnal  extent. 
Each  department  was  divided  into  districts,  and  each  district  into 
cantons.  They  were  to  be  giwerned  in  a  nnif(^rm  manner.  Each 
dej)artment  and  district  had  an  administrative  conncil  and  an  execn- 
tive  directory,  those  of  the  district  being  snbservient  to  those  of  the 
department.  The  canton,  composed  of  five  or  six  commnnes,  was 
a  simple  electoral  divisicjn.  The  administration  of  the  commnne 
was  confided  to  a  mnnicipality  consisting  of  a  number  of  members 
proportioned  to  the  population.  Tt  \\as  this  division  of  France 
into  small  portions  which  rendered  Paris  the  burning  focus  of  all 
ambitions  and  all  intrigues,  as  it  \vas  that  of  all  power.  There 
was  no  longer  any  center  of  action  left  to  counterpoise  the  despotism 
C)f  the  ca])ital ;  the  life  of  the  nation  was  drawn  more  and  more 
from  its  extremities  and  l\aris  absorbed  h^rance. 

Some  large  ]M'ovinces  attem])ted  to  repel  an  organizati()n  so 
op]:)osed  t(3  their  interests  and  destructive  of  their  privileges,  but 
the  ])rovincial  slates  and  ])arlements  |)rotested  in  vain  and  were 
suppressed.  To  the  resistance  of  these  was  also  added  that  of  the 
clergy.  v\-h.om  the  assemblv  deprived  of  their  property  to  meet  the 
necessities  (jf  the  state.  The  deficit  was  immense,  and  as  the  taxes 
produced  scarcely  an}-thing.  and  it  was  almost  imi)ossible  to  (obtain 
U)ans,  the  assembly  turned  to  the  immense  possessions  of  the  clergy 
as  the  only  resource  whicli  could  su])ply  the  existing  necessities. 
Talleyrand,  P>isl;op  of  .\utun,  ijroposed  to  the  clergy  to  give  up 
their  possessions,  \alued  at  many  hundreds  of  milliiMis,  for  the 
benefit  (jf  the  nation,  which  would  employ  them  in  the  jxayment 
of  its  debt  and  the  sujiixirt  of  religion.  The  clergy  refused,  and 
thereupon  the  assembly  declared  that  the  nation  on  taking  on  itself 


268  FRANCE 

1789-1790 

the  maintenance  of  public  worship  might  repossess  itself  of  wliat 
was  really  its  own  property.  The  public  expenses  required  in  this 
first  year  four  hundred  millions.  State  notes  were  issued  to  the 
amount  of  this  sum,  the  currency  of  which  was  enforced  by  law, 
and  which  were  secured  by  the  gross  property  of  the  clergy.  Such 
was  the  origin  of  the  assignats.  This  violent  spoliation  of  the 
clergy  and  subsequent  suppression  of  the  religious  orders  was  speed- 
ily followed  by  the  fatal  vote  creating  the  civil  constitution  of  the 
clergy.  This  vote  established  a  bishopric  in  each  department,  gave 
to  the  people  the  right  of  electing  bishops  and  curates,  and  allotted 
to  ecclesiastics  salaries  in  the  room  of  the  property  which  they  had 
formerly  possessed  and  which  the  nation  had  seized.  A  schism 
now  took  place  in  this  order,  many  of  its  deputies  immediately 
abandoning  the  assembly  and  joining  the  dissenting  noblemen. 
The  assembly  next  drew  over  the  army  to  the  cause  of  the  revolu- 
tion by  declaring  that  military  rank  and  promotion  should  be  inde- 
pendent of  titles  of  nobility.  It  abolished  all  these  titles  and  organ- 
ized the  judicial  body  on  a  new  basis.  It  established  a  criminal 
trilxinal  for  each  department,  a  civil  tribunal  for  each  district,  a 
justice  of  the  peace  for  each  canton,  and,  following  the  English  ex- 
ample, it  introduced  juries  in  the  criminal  trials.  It  rendered  all 
magisterial  offices  temporary  and  conferable  by  election,  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  political  and  administrative  ones,  and  based  its  whole 
legislation,  in  short,  on  the  principle  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  peo- 
ple. The  king  was  allowed  to  retain  the  initiative  in  respect  to 
questions  of  peace  or  war,  but  the  final  decision  upon  them  was 
reserved  for  the  legislative  assembly. 

As  the  anniversary  of  the  capture  of  the  Bastile  approached 
it  was  resolved  to  celebrate  it  with  extraordinary  brilliancy  in  the 
Champ  de  Mars,  where  Talleyrand,  the  Bishop  of  x\utun,  cele- 
brated a  solemn  mass  on  a  vast  altar,  Lafayette,  as  commander- 
in-cliief  of  the  national  guards  of  the  kingdom,  advanced  first  of 
all  to  take  the  civic  oath,  and  was  followed  by  all  the  deputies  sent 
from  the  eighty-three  departments,  amid  the  roar  of  artillery  and 
prolonged  cries  of  "  Vive  Ic  Roi!  Vive  la  nation!"  Louis  XVI. 
then  arose  and  said :  "  I,  king  of  the  French,  swear  to  use  all  the 
power  which  is  delegated  to  me  by  the  constitution  of  the  state, 
to  maintain  tlie  constitution  decreed  by  the  national  assembly  and 
accepted  by  me."  The  populace  burst  forth  into  enthusiastic  accla- 
mations.     Party    intricjues    were    renewed    on    the    following   dav. 


(ONSTITTTIOX  A  L     MONARCHY  2G0 

1790-1791 

Neckcr  sent  in  his  resignation  on  September  4,  1790.  A  great 
number  of  the  nobiHty  emigrated  and  the  spirit  of  insurrec- 
tion made  progress  among  the  people  and  in  tlie  army.  The 
creation  of  chibs  nniUiphed  the  seeds  of  agitation  and  precipitated 
France  towards  anarchy.  Tlie  chibs  at  first  were  private  asscm- 
bhes,  without  any  pohtical  authority,  in  which  the  meml)ers  (Hs- 
cussed  the  affairs  of  the  nation.  The  first  formed  with  this  object 
was  that  of  the  Breton  deputies,  at  Versailles,  and  called  the 
"  Breton  Club."  After  the  assembly  removed  to  Paris  in  October, 
some  of  its  members  formed  the  club  of  "  The  iM'iends  of  the 
Constitution/'  which  was  held  at  the  ancient  convent  of  llic 
Jacobins,  whence  it  received  its  name,  '*  Jacobin  Club."  But  this 
club  soon  extended  its  views,  and  desired  to  exercise  an  intlucnce 
over  the  assembly,  the  municipality  an.d  the  populace.  Its  mem- 
bers formed  alliances  wnth  similar  associations  in  the  provinces, 
and  raised  by  the  side  of  the  legal  power  one  which  was  still  more 
powerful  and  which  successively  overruled  and  destroyed  it.  The 
emigration  continued.  The  king's  aunts  left  iM-ance.  and  Louis 
XVI.,  who  was  suspected  of  wishing  to  j\)in  them,  was  arrested 
by  the  people  and  detained  in  Paris  at  the  moment  when  he  was 
preparing  to  quit  the  capital  for  Saint  Cloud.  The  assembly,  while 
proclaiming  the  inviolability  of  the  monarch,  declaretl  that  his  thght 
from  the  kingdom  would  lead  to  the  forfeiture  of  his  throne.  And 
now  the  deputies  having  destroyed  all  privileges  and  comi)letcd  the 
constitution  according  to  their  own  idea,  became  terrified  at  the 
immense  void  which  they  had  created  around  the  throne,  and  mani- 
fested a  more  monarchical  tendency,  being  led  t<^  do  so  chielly  by 
Mirabeau,  who  endeavored  to  stem  the  rising  tide  and  tried  to 
exert  his  intlucnce  in  favor  of  the  court.  He  succeeded  in  procur- 
ing the  rejection  of  a  violent  decree  against  the  emigrants,  on  the 
ground  that  it  was  an  infringement  of  ])crsonal  liberty,  and  died 
soon  after,  in  1791,  regretted  by  all  parties  in  the  nation. 

The  sullen  murmurs  of  the  storm  already  began  to  be  heard 
on  the  frontier.  Ilie  emigrants  petitioned  all  Iun\)pe  to  assist  them 
against  h^rance.  and  formed  two  bodies,  the  one  under  Conde  at 
Worms  and  the  other  under  the  Count  of  /Artois  at  Coblent;^.  But 
Louis  was  anxious  to  restore  the  monarcliy  by  his  own  exertions, 
and  for  this  purpose  he  endeavored  to  reach  Montmedv.  to  j^)in  the 
army  under  the  command  of  Bouille.  On  the  night  oi  June  jo. 
1791,   the  royal    family  left   the   Tuileries   in   disguise,   passed   the 


270  FRANCE 

1791 

barriers  of  Paris  without  interruption  and  immediately  proceeded 
by  the  road  leading  to  Chalons  and  Montmedy.  On  receiving 
information  of  this  event,  the  assembly  immediately  assumed  the 
executive  authority,  assured  the  various  powers  of  its  pacific  inten- 
tions and  sent  commissioners  to  the  troops  to  receive  their  oaths 
of  fidelity  in  its  own  name.  After  a  short  interval  news  arrived 
of  the  king's  arrest  at  Varennes,  and  soon  after  he  was  brought 
into  Paris,  where  he  was  received  in  sinister  silence.  The  question 
then  was  whether  Louis  XVI.  should  continue  to  reign  or  should 
be  declared  dethroned.  The  assembly,  at  the  instigation  of  Bar- 
nave,  declared  that  it  was  not  competent  to  try  Louis  XVI.  or  to 
pronounce  his  dethronement,  but  at  the  same  time,  for  the  sake  of 
calming  the  popular  excitement,  it  decreed  that  the  king-  would  have 
abdicated  dc  facto,  and  have  ceased  to  be  inviolable  if  he  should 
wage  war  against  the  nation,  or  suffer  it  to  be  done  in  his  name. 
This  decree  irritated  the  populace.  The  agitators  prepared  a  peti- 
tion in  which  they  appealed  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  people,  and 
spoke  of  Louis  XVI.  as  having  ceased  to  reign  since  his  flight. 
This  was  carried  on  July  17  to  the  Champ  de  Mars,  to  the  "altar 
of  the  country,"  where  Danton  and  Camille  Desmoulins  harangued 
an  immense  crowd,  and  excited  them  to  insurrection.  The  peril 
now  became  imminent,  and  the  assembly  directed  the  municipality 
to  watch  over  the  public  safety.  Lafayette  and  Bailly  proceeded 
to  the  Champ  de  Mars  at  the  head  of  a  numerous  body  of  national 
guards  and  were  compelled  to  order  the  soldiers  to  fire  on  the  mob 
in  order  to  disperse  them. 

These  deplorable  dissensions  led  the  adversaries  of  the  revolu- 
tion to  the  committal  of  imprudent  acts.  Monsieur  assumed  at 
Brussels  tlie  title  of  regent.  The  emperor  and  the  King  of  Prussia 
met  at  Pilnitz,  where  they  signed,  at  the  risk  of  compromising  the 
king  whom  they  wished  to  defend,  the  treaty  of  August  27,  1791. 
In  this  they  declared  "  that  they  regarded  the  present  situation  of 
his  majesty  the  King  of  France  as  a  matter  of  common  interest  to 
all  the  sovereigns  of  Europe.  They  trust  that  this  interest  wdll  not 
fall  to  be  recognized  by  the  powers,  whose  aid  is  solicited,  and  that 
in  consequence  they  will  not  refuse  to  employ,  in  conjunction  with 
their  majesties,  the  most  efficient  means  in  proportion  to  their 
resources  to  place  the  King  of  France  in  a  position  to  establish,  with 
the  most  absolute  freedom,  the  foundations  of  a  monarchical  form 
of  government,  wlu'ch  sliall  at  once  be  in  harmony  with  the  rights 


C  O  N  S  T  I  T  V  TH)  N  A  I.     M  ()  N  A  R  CM  I  Y  271 

1791 

of  sovereigns  and  promote  the  welfare  of  the  French  nation.''  It 
was  a  perfectly  harmless  document,  as  the  cooperation  of  the  other 
powers  of  Europe,  upon  which  its  execution  depended,  could  not 
be  hoped  for.  It  was  a  mere  sop  to  the  Count  of  Artois  and  tlie 
emigrants.  In  the  meantime  the  end  of  the  term  (jf  office  of  the 
assembly  drew  near.  A  fatal  decree,  which  had  been  passed  bef(M-c 
the  departure  of  the  king  for  Yarennes.  had  interdicted  anv  of  the 
members  from  forming  a  portion  of  the  next  assembly.  It  was  in 
this  way  that  the  guidance  of  the  revolution  was  given  over  to  new 
and  inexperienced  men. 

Before  dissolving,  the  assembly  condensed  its  constitutional 
decrees  into  a  single  code,  declaring  that  h^rance  had  a  right  to 
review  its  constitution,  but  that  it  would  be  ])rudent  not  to  use  this 
right  before  thirty  years.  The  king  accepted  the  constitution  with- 
out reserve,  and  on  September  29,  1791,  he  closed  the  assembly 
with  some  touching  words,  which  were  received  by  it  with  accla- 
mations and  every  testimony  of  respect  and  love.  Then  Thouret, 
addressing  the  assembly,  pronounced  these  words:  "  The  constitu- 
ent assembly  declares  that  its  mission  is  accomplished,  and  that 
at  this  moment  it  terminates  its  sessions." 


Chapter    XVI 

THE   FALL    OF   THE    MONARCHY.     1 791-1792 

THE  court,  the  nobility,  and  the  clergy  had  little  influence 
over  the  new  elections,  which  were  conducted  simply  in 
accordance  with  the  popular  will,  and  the  assembly  opened 
its  session  on  October  i,  1791.  The  parties  into  which  it  was 
divided  did  not  fail  to  become  speedily  apparent.  The  right, 
composed  of  men  firmly  attached  to  the  constitution,  formed  the 
Feuillant  party.  It  was  supported  by  the  club  of  that  name,  by  the 
national  guard  and  the  army,  but  it  speedily  yielded  the  important 
affairs  of  the  municipality  to  its  adversaries  of  the  left,  which  com- 
posed the  Girondist  party,  at  the  head  of  which  shone  the  celebrated 
orators  of  the  Gironde,  from  which  it  took  its  name,  Vergniaud, 
Gaudet,  Gensonne,  Brissot,  Condorcet,  and  Isnard.  This  party 
was  disposed  to  have  recourse  to  the  most  radical  measures,  and  to 
appeal  to  the  multitude  to  aid  it  in  carrying  forward  the  revolu- 
tion. Without  the  doors  of  the  assembly  the  democratic  faction 
supported  the  Girondists,  and  led  the  clubs  and  the  multitude. 
Robespierre  ruled  at  the  Jacobins ;  Danton,  Camille  Desmoulins,  and 
F'abre  d'Eglantine  were  the  leaders  at  the  Cordeliers,  which  was 
still  more  violent  than  the  other,  and  the  brewer  Santerre  was  the 
popular  chief  in  the  suburbs.  The  emigration  increased  greatly 
day  by  day. 

The  king's  two  brothers  had  protested  against  the  acceptance 
of  the  constitution  by  Louis  XVL  Hostile  gatherings  took  place 
in  the  Austrian  Low  Countries,  and  in  the  neighboring  electorates. 
Preparations  for  the  counter  revolution  were  made  at  Brussels, 
Worms  and  Coblentz.  under  the  protection  of  foreign  courts.  The 
assembly,  greatly  irritated,  adopted  on  October  30  a  decree  which 
declared  Louis  Stanislas  Xavier,  the  king's  brother,  deprived  of 
all  right  to  the  regency  unless  he  should  return  to  France 
within  two  months.  November  19  it  declared  that  all  Frenchmen 
assembled  beyond  the  frontiers  were  suspected  of  conspiring  against 
their  country,  and  if  on  January  i,  1792,  they  were  still  assembled 

272 


FALL     OF     MONARCHY  273 

1791-1792 

in  that  hostile  manner  they  would  be  treated  as  consjiirators,  and 
punished  with  death.  1"hc  kinc;'  sanctioned  the  fw-.A  decree,  but 
placed  his  veto  on  the  ()ther. 

The  national  irritation  was  at  this  time  greatly  increased  by 
the  conduct  of  the  princes  of  the  neighboring  states,  who  received 
the  emigrants  with  favor  and  countenanced  their  military  prepara- 
tions. It  was  desired  that  Louis  XV'I.  should  make  a  solemn  dec- 
laration against  them.  The  proposed  measure  was  decreed  unani- 
mously and  enthusiastically,  and  Louis  WT.  approved  it.  ''  If  my 
representations  are  not  listened  to,"  he  said,  "  it  will  only  remain 
for  me  to  declare  war."  The  assembly  voted  twenty  millions  for 
this  object.  A  hundred  and  fift}'  thousand  men  were  raised  and 
three  armies  were  formed,  which  were  posted  on  the  northern 
and  eastern  frontiers,  under  command  of  Rochambeau,  Luckner  and 
Lafayette. 

Austria  replied  to  this  decree  by  ordering  ]\Larshal  Bender  to 
give  his  support  to  the  Elector  of  Treves  if  he  were  attacked,  and 
demanded  the  restoration  of  the  German  princes  who  were  f()rmerly 
possessors  in  Alsace.  It  demanded  the  reestablishment  of  the 
feudality  of  this  province,  or  war.  The  legislative  assembly  now 
accused  the  ministry  of  weakness  and  l)ad  faith,  and  a  total  dissolu- 
tion of  the  council  followed.  The  king,  yielding  to  pressure  of 
circumstances,  now  formed  a  Girondist  ministry,  the  most  remark- 
able members  of  which  were  General  Dumouriez  and  Roland,  a 
man  of  narrow  mind,  completely  under  the  control  of  his  wife, 
who  was  the  life  and  soul  of  the  Girondist  ])arty.  Louis  XVL  re- 
plied to  tiie  demands  of  Austria  by  proijosing  war,  April  20.  ij<~)2, 
and  the  assembly  so  determined,  ddie  invasi(jn  of  Belgium,  which 
was  occupied  by  the  Austrians,  was  resohxHl  on.  and  Rochambeau 
was  ordered  to  undertake  it.  The  two  brst  invading  columns,  how- 
ever, were  seized  with  terror  at  the  sight  of  the  enemy  and  took 
to  flight.  Rochambeau  resigned  the  command,  and  the  war  as- 
sumed a  defensive  character.  Two  armies  co\-ered  the  h'rench 
frontiers  on  the  north  and  the  east,  under  Lafayette  and  Luckner. 

The  first  reverse  suffered  by  the  I'^rcnch  troops  excited  great 
anxiety  and  \it)lent  discontent,  d'lie  court  was  accused  of  being 
in  complicity  with  the  enemy  and  the  assembly  declared  its  sessii)ns 
permanent.  It  passed  two  decrees  contrary  to  the  king's  wishes. 
The  one  exiled  the  priests  who  refused  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  constitution,  the  other  established  a  camp  of  twenty  thousand 


274  F  R  A  N  C  E 

1792 

men  under  the  walls  of  Paris.  The  ministers  took  the  king  to  task 
on  the  subject  of  his  constitutional  duties  and  exhorted  him  to  make 
himself  frankly  the  king  of  the  revolution.  This  wounded  the  king, 
and  determined  him  to  dismiss  the  Girondist  ministers  and  reject 
the  two  decrees.  The  assembly  immediately  declared  that  the  late 
ministers  had  the  sympathy  of  the  nation. 

The  new  ministry  was  chosen  from  am.ong  the  Feuillants, 
a  party  distasteful  to  the  multitude  for  their  moderation  and  to  the 
court  for  their  attachment  to  the  constitution.  The  various  parties 
became  more  and  more  divided;  every  hope  of  reconciliation  van- 
ished. The  court  reckoned  upon  Europe  for  the  restoration  of  its 
power,  and  the  Girondists  relied  upon  the  po])ulace  to  enable  them 
to  secure  theirs.  Chabot,  Santerre  and  others  of  the  Jacobin 
Club  kci)t  the  suburbs  in  a  state  of  commotion.  On  June  20 
thirty  thousand  men  armed  with  pikes  invaded  the  Tuileries.  Sum- 
moned by  the  mob  to  sanction  the  two  decrees,  the  king  refused 
with  admirable  courage,  but  dared  not  decline  the  red  cap  which 
was  presented  to  him  at  the  end  of  a  pike,  and  he  placed  it  on  his 
head  amid  the  applause  of  the  crow^l.  Petion.  the  mayor  of  Paris, 
arrived  at  length,  and  harangued  the  multitude,  which  slowly  dis- 
persed. 

The  constitutionalists,  indignant  at  this  occurrence,  now  en- 
treated the  king  to  grant  them  his  confidence,  and  accept  their 
support,  and  Lafayette  besought  him  to  place  himself  at  the  head 
of  his  army.  But  a  fatality  blinded  the  unfortunate  monarch,  and 
he  refused.  The  king  was  now  the  object,  in  the  debates  of  the 
assembly,  of  the  most  violent  invectives,  and  the  question  of  his 
dethronement  was  already  discussed,  wdien,  on  July  ir,  1792,  the 
assembly  declared  the  country  in  danger.  All  citizens  capable  of 
bearing  arms  were  summoned  to  enroll  themselves;  pikes  were  dis- 
tributed; a  camp  was  formed  at  Soissons;  the  revolutionary  ex- 
citement was  at  its  height ;  the  club  of  the  Feuillants  was  closed ; 
the  companies  of  grenadiers  and  chasseurs  of  the  national  guard 
were  dissolved ;  the  troops  of  the  line  and  the  Swiss  were  removed 
from  the  capital  and  everything  betokened  some  impending  catas- 
trophe. 

The  Duke  of  Brunswick  was  now  advancing  at  the  head  of 
eighty-one  thousand  Prussians,  Austrians,  Hessians  and  emi- 
grants, and  this  caused  a  general  rising  of  the  whole  French  peo- 
ple.   In  Paris  the  popular  party  wished  to  annul  the  king's  authority 


FALL     OF     :\I  ()  X  A  K  ( '  1 1  Y  275 

1792 

at  once.  On  Aug-ust  3  Potion  appeared  before  the  assembly  and 
demanded  the  dethronement  of  the  kin^^.  in  the  name  of  the  coni- 
nnme  and  tlie  sections;  the  assembly  took  no  action.  The  scenes 
of  disorder  grew  more  frecjuent  day  by  day  and  the  insurgents 
fixed  the  morning  of  August  10  for  the  attack  on  the  Tuileries. 
Informed  of  the  threatening  demonstrations  that  were  everywhere 
taking  place,  the  court  had  put  the  Tuileries  in  a  state  of  de- 
fense; the  interior  ^vas  guarded  by  from  eight  to  nine  hundred 
Swiss  and  a  body  of  gentlemen  armed  witli  swords  and  pistols. 
Several  battalions  of  national  guards,  distinguished  for  their  roy- 
alist sentiments,  occupied  the  courtyard  and  the  exterior  posts, 
but  an  unfortunate  blow  shook  their  resolution.  AFandat,  tlie 
commander-in-chief,  was  summoned  before  the  commune  to  ren- 
der an  account  of  his  conduct,  and  the  mob  murdered  him  on  the 
steps  of  the  Hotel  de  Ville.  Santerre,  the  brewer,  immediately 
succeeded  him  in  his  command,  and  the  court  thus  found  itself 
deprived  of  one  of  its  most  reliable  defenders.  The  insurgents 
now  advanced  in  several  columns  against  the  1'uilcries.  d'lic 
king,  by  the  advice  of  some  of  his  friends,  then  ])rocccded  with 
his  family  to  the  hall  of  the  assembly  amid  the  v(jciferations  of 
the  populace. 

After  the  departure  of  the  king  a  furious  conflict  took  place 
between  the  Swiss  and  the  assailants,  and  tlie  Swiss,  whom  a  first 
volley  had  made  master  of  the  Carrousel,  were  drixcn  back  by  the 
multitude,  dispersed,  and  exterminated.  This  was  tlie  last  day  of 
the  monarchy.  A  new  municipality  that  had  been  established  by 
the  actions  of  the  section  proceeded  to  the  assemblv  autl  demanded 
the  dethronement  of  the  king  and  the  establishment  of  a  national 
convention.  Vergniaud  replied  by  proposing  the  summoning  of 
an  extraordinary  assembly,  the  dismissal  of  the  ministers,  and  the 
suspension  of  the  king's  authority.  These  measures  were  a'p- 
proved  of,  and  the  Girondist  ministers  were  reestablished  in  power. 
Idle  unfortunate  Louis  XVT.  was  taken  to  the  Temple,  with 
his  family,  and  September  20  was  ;ij)p()i!itcd  as  the  dav  fnr 
the  opening  of  the  assembly  which  was  to  decide  the  destinies  of 
the  nation. 

The  enemv's  army  continued  to  approach,  and  there  was 
reason  to  fear  a  ci\il  war.  Lafayette,  after  a  wain  effort  tt)  lead 
his  troops  against  Laris,  left  his  army  and  crossed  the  frontier. 
Lie  was  arrested  by  the  Austrians  hrsL  at  Magdebtirg,  and  tlien 


276  FRANCE 

1792 

at  Olmutz.  On  August  lo  the  victorious  party  proceeded  to 
establish  its  power  in  Paris  by  the  most  violent  methods.  It  had 
all  the  statues  of  kings  pulled  down,  demanded  of  the  assembly 
the  establishment  of  an  extraordinary  tribunal  for  the  trial  of 
those  whom  it  termed  the  conspirators  of  August  lo.  This 
tribunal  was  established;  but  its  proceedings  appeared  too  dilatory 
to  the  populace,  excited  by  the  loss  of  relatives  and  friends  at  the 
attack  on  the  Tuileries. 

The  Prussians,  supported  by  Austrians  and  Hessians,  threat- 
ened the  frontier  of  the  north,  and  French  emigrants  under  the 
command  of  the  Prince  of  Conde  marched  against  France  in  con- 
cert with  them.  Longwy  capitulated ;  Verdun  was  bombarded 
and  thenceforth  the  road  to  Paris  was  open.  Terror  reigned 
throughout  Paris.  Numerous  arrests  were  immediately  made  by 
order  of  the  commune.  The  prisoners  were  selected  from  the 
ranks  of  the  dissenting  nobility  and  the  clergy.  Troops  marched 
towards  the  frontier.  Ill-omened  rumors  chilled  every  soul ;  the 
commune  exerted  itself,  and  measures  were  taken  for  a  general 
levy  of  tlie  citizens. 

The  news  of  the  capture  of  Verdun  reached  Paris  on  the  night 
of  September  i  and  filled  it  with  a  species  of  stupefaction. 
The  tocsin  was  sounded,  the  barriers  were  closed,  and  on  the 
second  the  massacre  of  prisoners  commenced.  During  three  days 
the  nobles  and  the  priests  who  had  been  imprisoned  at  the  Ab- 
baye,  the  Conciergerie,  Carmes,  and  La  Force  were  executed  by 
the  ignorant,  fanatic  and  excited  populace,  in  the  midst  of  a  hid- 
eous parody  of  judicial  forms.  The  brutal  mob  displayed  under 
the  windows  of  the  Temple,  in  the  sight  of  the  queen,  the  head  of 
her  friend,  the  unfortunate  Princess  de  Lamballe.  The  assembly 
wished  to  check  the  massacres,  but  found  itself  unable  to  do  so. 
The  commune  reigned  alone  in  Paris. 

The  Prussians  continued  to  advance.  Dumouriez,  who  had 
been  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  army  of  the  Moselle,  threw 
his  troops,  by  an  inspiration  of  genius,  into  the  forest  of  Argonne, 
the  only  position  in  \vhich  he  could  check  the  progress  of  the 
enemy.  The  Prussians  were  compelled  to  halt,  but  an  error  com- 
mitted by  Dumouriez  forced  him  to  fall  back  upon  the  camp  of 
Sainte-Menelujuld,  where  he  concentrated  his  forces,  and  received 
reinforcements  under  the  command  of  Beurnonville  and  Keller- 
mann.     On  September  20  the  Prussians  attacked  Kellermann  at 


FALL     OF     MO  N  ARC  PI  Y  277 

1792 

Valiny,  but  the  lienor  of  the  day  remained  with  the  French.  After 
unsuccessful  negotiations,  the  Prussians  were  allowed  to  retreat 
unmolested.  Fhe  I'^xnch  rtsunicd  jiossession  nf  Verdun  and 
Longwy  and  the  enemy  repassed  the  Rhitie  at  Cnblentz.  Othei- 
successes  attended  the  French  arms  in  the  course  of  this  campaign. 
Custine,  on  the  Rhine,  took  possession  of  Treves,  Spires  and  May- 
ence;  Montesquiou  invaded  Savoy,  and  Anselme  the  county  of 
Nice.  The  French  troops  everywhere  assumed  the  cjffensive,  and 
were  victorious. 


Chapter    XVII 

THE    FIRST    REPUBLIC.     1 792-1 795 

THE  legislative  assembly  had  dissolved  itself,  and  that 
which  succeeded  it  commenced  its  sitting  on  September 
20,  1792,  and  took  the  name  of  the  national  convention. 
Its  first  act  was  to  abolish  royalty,  and  it  then  declared  that  it 
would  date  its  proceedings  from  the  first  year  of  the  French  re- 
public. These  measures  were  decreed  unanimously,  but  the  two 
sections  into  which  the  legislative  assembly  was  divided  at  its 
close  speedily  commenced  a  desperate  war  against  each  other,  the 
issue  of  which  was  fatal  to  both  of  them.  These  parties  were  that 
of  the  Girondists,  which  sat  on  the  right  in  the  assembly,  and  that 
of  the  Mountain,  which  occupied  the  upper  benches  on  the  left, 
whence  they  derived  their  name.  The  first  party  desired  a  legal 
and  constitutional  form  of  government  in  the  republic,  which  was 
the  object  of  their  wishes,  and  which  they  had  themselves  assisted 
to  establish.  The  Mountain,  less  enlightened  and  less  scrupulous 
than  the  Girondists,  were  more  audacious  and  less  scrupulous 
as  to  the  means  by  which  they  attained  their  ends.  The  most  ex- 
treme democracy  seemed  to  them  to  be  the  best  form  of  govern- 
ment, and  they  had  for  their  principal  leaders,  Danton,  Robes- 
pierre, and  ]\Iarat,  of  whom  the  two  last-named  were,  with  good 
reason,  held  in  especial  horror  by  the  Girondists.  Robespierre,  a 
man  of  moderate  talents,  but  full  of  envy  and  ambition,  aspired 
to  the  first  rank,  and  triumphed  over  all  superiority  by  branding 
it  with  the  then  odious'  name  of  aristocracy.  He  distinguished 
himself  in  the  eyes  of  the  multitude  by  a  show  of  austere  patriot- 
ism, and  captivated  it  by  lavishing  upon  it  the  property  and  blood 
of  the  vanquished.  Marat,  a  furious  fanatic,  had  rendered  him- 
self the  apostle  of  murder  by  his  discourses;  and  in  his  kifamous 
journal.  The  Friend  of  the  People,  he  advocated  recourse  to  a  dic- 
tatorship for  the  purpose  of  subduing  the  enemies  of  the  people, 
and  exterminating  them  in  a  body.  The  Girondists  were  stronger 
in  the  assembly  than  their  rivals,  but  the  commune  of  Paris  was 

27b 


THE     FIRST     11 1^  P  IT  B  L  I  C  279 

1792 

devoted  to  the  Moimtain,  which  ruled  Ijy  its  aid  and  that  of  the 
Jacobins  ihc  sections  and  the  suhnrhs.  A  tliin!  party,  with  no 
decided  opinions  and  no  systematic  action,  hesitated  between  the 
two  others.  They  voted  for  the  (liroiKHsts  and  j^a\e  them  the 
majority,  as  long  as  they  were  without  fears  for  themselves,  but 
fear  at  length  threw  them  into  the  o])posite  ranks.  The  Girondists 
accused  Robespierre  of  seeking  to  establish  a  tyranny.  This  accu- 
sation, ill  supported,  fell  also  upon  Alarat.  who  every  day  advo- 
cated fresh  massacres.  But  by  these  attacks,  which  were  renewed 
from  day  to  day,  the  Girondists  increased  tlie  importance  of  their 
adversaries ;  failing  to  perceive  that  they  must  vanquish  and  crush 
them,  or  perish  themselves.  Powerless  against  the  commune,  they 
yielded  also  to  their  enemies  the  club  of  the  Jacobins,  and  irri- 
tated the  populace  of  Paris  by  demanding  that  the  prcjtection  of 
the  assembly  slujuld  be  confined  to  troops  drawn  from  the  depart- 
ments. From  this  policy  they  obtained  the  name  of  federalists, 
and  were  accused  of  wishing  to  excite  the  provinces  against  the 
capital,  while  the  Mountain  had  proclaimed  the  unity  and  indi- 
visibility of  the  republic. 

The  French  arms  triumphed  in  Belgium.  Dumouriez  de- 
feated the  Austrians  under  General  Clairfait  and  the  Archduke 
Albert  at  Jemappes.  The  enemy  was  driven  beyond  the  Roer, 
and  the  victorious  general  entered  Brussels  on  the  14th,  while  his 
lieutenants  took  Xamur  and  Antwerp.  The  whole  of  Belgium 
was  subdued.  From  this  time  began  the  dissensions  between  the 
victorious  Dumouriez  and  the  Jacobins.  Hie  latter  threw  them- 
selves upon  the  conquered  provinces  as  their  prey.  The  Flemings, 
weary  of  the  Austrian  yoke,  had  received  the  h^rench  with  en- 
thusiasm, and  as  liberators.  But  the  Jacoliins  speedily  alienated 
them  by  demanding  heavy  contributions,  and  gave  them  up  to  a 
frightful  anarchy.  Dumouriez,  indignant,  retumed  to  Paris  with 
the  double  object  of  rej^ressing  their  violence  and  saving  Louis 
XVI. ;  his  efforts  were  vain. 

The  unfortunate  monarch  languished  during  four  months  in 
the  tower  of  the  Temple,  with  the  f|ueen,  his  two  children,  and 
his  virtuous  sister  Elizabeth,  ])assing  his  time  in  reading  and  the 
education  oi  the  young  dauj)hin.  The  conimune  exercised  a  cruel 
surveillance  over  its  captives,  and  made  them  drink  deep  oi  bitter- 
ness. The  debate  on  the  king's  trial  commenced  on  Xovomber 
7,  and  it  was  soon  decided  to  bring  him  before  the  convention 


280  FRANCE 

1792 

on  various  charges,  the  chief  of  which  was  conspiracy  with  the 
European  powers  to  overthrow  the  sovereignty  and  hberties  of 
the  French  people.  The  Mountain,  urging  with  the  utmost 
energy  the  condemnation  of  the  king,  wished  to  crush  the  Girond- 
ists, Vv^ho  had  openly  expressed  their  desire  to  save  him.  The 
great  majorit}^  of  the  assembly  persisted  in  conducting  this  great 
trial  according  to  judicial  forms,  and  Louis  XVI.,  already  separ- 
ated from  his  family,  appeared  as  a  prisoner  before  the  conven- 
tion. He  either  denied  the  charges  that  were  made  against  him 
or  took  refuge  behind  the  inviolability  conferred  upon  him  by  the 
constitution.  On  being  reconducted  to  the  Temple,  he  requested 
to  be  allowed  counsel,  and,  by  permission  of  the  convention,  Tron- 
chet  and  Malesherbes  immediately  commenced  the  preparation  of 
the  king's  defense,  and  took  counsel  with  De  Seze,  an  advocate 
of  Bordeaux,  established  in  Paris.  When  the  king  was  taken  a 
second  time  before  the  convention,  he  appeared  at  the  bar  accom- 
panied by  his  counsel.  De  Seze  read  the  defense,  and  concluded 
his  pathetic  address  with  these  solemn  words :  "  Louis,  ascend- 
ing the  throne  at  the  age  of  twenty  years,  sat  there  an  example 
of  morals,  justice  and  economy.  He  carried  to  it  no  weakness, 
no  corrupt  passion,  and  was  the  constant  friend  of  the  people. 
The  people  wished  that  a  disastrous  tax  should  be  abolished,  and 
Louis  abolished  it ;  the  people  desired  the  abolition  of  servitude, 
and  Louis  abolished  it;  the  people  solicited  reforms,  and  he  made 
them;  the  people  wished  to  change  its  laws,  and  he  consented  to 
the  change;  the  people  wished  that  millions  of  Frenchmen  should 
recover  their  rights,  and  he  restored  them;  the  people  wished  for 
liberty,  and  he  bestowed  it  on  them.  It  is  impossible  to  deny  to 
Louis  the  glory  of  having  anticipated  the  wishes  of  the  people  by 
his  sacrifices ;  and  this  man  it  is  proposed  to  you  to But,  citi- 
zens, I  will  not  complete  what  I  was  about  to  say.  I  pause  in  the 
presence  of  history.  Remember  that  it  will  judge  your  judgment, 
and  that  its  verdict  will  be  that  of  all  ages  to  come."  Louis  XVI. 
left  the  hall  with  his  counsel,  and  a  violent  storm  immediately 
arose  in  the  assembly.  Lanjuinais,  in  a  state  of  great  indignation, 
rushed  to  the  tribune,  and  demanded  that  the  whole  proceedings 
should  be  annulled.  His  appeal  was  followed  by  a  terrible  tumult, 
and  from  all  sides  arose  the  cry,  "  Order !  To  the  Abbaye  with 
him!"  Lanjuinais,  calm  and  intrepid,  added,  "I  would  rather  die 
a  thousand  deaths  than  condemn,  contrary  to  the  law,  the  mosi 


THE     FIRST     REPUBLIC  281 

1792-1793 

abominable  tyrant."  A  crowd  of  speakers  succeeded  Lanjuinais. 
Saint-Just  influenced  the  hatred  of  the  unfortunate  prince's  ene- 
mies by  representing  him,  with  an  air  of  liypocritical  gentleness, 
under  the  most  abominable  colors,  Rabaud-Saint-l^^.tiennc,  a  Prot- 
estant minister,  who  had  already  honorably  distinguislied  himself 
as  a  member  of  the  constituent  assembly,  expressed  himself,  on  the 
other  hand,  as  indignant  at  the  accumulation  of  powers  exercised 
by  the  convention.  Robespierre  then  arose  and  said,  "  The  chief 
proof  of  devotion  which  we  owe  to  our  country  is  to  stifle  in  our 
hearts  every  sentiment  of  compassion."  ITe  tlien  broke  forth  into 
invectives  and  perfidious  insinuations  against  the  deputies  of  the 
Gironde,  who  at  this  critical  moment  preserved  a  prudent  silence, 
while  Robespierre  expressed  himself  without  reserve,  demanded 
that  Louis  XVL  should  be  condemned,  and  did  not  conceal  his 
desire  that  his  blood  should  be  shed.  These  stormy  debates  were 
prolonged  during  three  days,  and  at  length  AT^rgniaud.  the  great- 
est orator  of  the  Girondist  party,  arose  to  speak  and  was  listened 
to  in  profound  silence.  ITe  declared  in  favor  of  an  appeal  to  the 
people,  repelled  the  perfidious  insinuations  of  Robespierre,  and 
predicted  all  the  dangers  which  must  result  to  hVance  from  a  pvQ- 
cipitate  condemnation.  The  impression  produced  by  this  discourse 
was  profound,  and  the  assembly,  divided  into  two  parties,  hesi- 
tated. Brissot,  Gcnsonne,  Petion,  advised  an  appeal  to  the  people; 
Barrere  opposed  this  course,  and  his  cold  and  cruel  logic 
triumphed  over  the  eloquence  of  X'ergniaud.  Hie  conclusion 
of  the  discussion  was  declared,  and  a  decree  fixed  the  nominal 
vote  for  January  17,  1793.  O'^  ^''^■''  ^^'^Y'  7-^  ^'''  ^'""^  convention 
recorded  their  votes,  and  sentence  of  death  on  the  king  was  pro- 
nounced by  a  majority  of  53,  the  king's  cousin,  the  Duke  of  Orleans, 
being  among  those  who  declared  that  he  ought  to  die  on  the  scaf- 
fold. The  counsel  of  Louis  XVL,  De  Seze  and  Tronchet,  protested 
against  the  decree ;  ]\Ialesherbes  endeavored  to  speak,  but  sobs 
choked  his  voice.  A  motion  for  reprie\al  and  delay  was  negatived 
two  days  later  by  a  majority  of  380  against  310,  and  the  execution 
was  fixed  for  January  21. 

Louis  had  requested  the  services  of  a  priest,  and  had  named 
the  Abbe  Edgeworth  of  FiruK^nt.  Tlie  request  was  granted.  A 
last  interview  with  his  family  had  been  permitted  to  the  unfortu- 
nate monarch  on  the  day  preceding  that  which  had  been  fixed  for 
his  execution.     In  the  evening  tlie  (lueen  entered  his  cliamber,  lead- 


282  FRANC  E 

1793 

ing  the  dauphin  by  the  hand;  his  daug-hter  and  Madame  Elizabeth 
followed,  and  all  four  threw  themselves  simultaneously  into  the 
king's  arms,  with  the  most  bitter  sobs.  After  a  long  and  painful 
interview  the  king-  rose  and  put  an  end  to  this  cruel  scene  by  promis- 
ing to  see  his  family  on  the  morrow — a  promise  which  could  not  be 
fulfilled.  His  only  thought  now  was  how  best  to  prepare  himself 
for  death.  About  midnight  he  went  to  bed  and  slept  until  live  in  the 
morning.  When  the  king  was  dressed  the  Abbe  Edgeworth  said 
mass.  Louis  XVI.  received  the  communion  on  his  knees  from  the 
priest's  hands. 

The  drums  were  already  beating  in  the  streets  of  Paris,  and  the 
sections  were  assuming  their  arms.  At  nine  o'clock  Santerre,  ac- 
companied by  a  deputation  from  the  commune,  the  department, 
and  the  criminal  tribunal,  arrived  at  the  Temple.  The  king  pre- 
pared to  depart.  He  spared  himself  and  his  family  a  fresh  separa- 
tion, which  would  have  been  more  painful  than  that  of  the  previous 
day,  and  charged  his  faithful  servant  Clery  to  give  his  last  farewell 
to  his  wife,  his  sister,  and  his  children;  then  gave  the  signal  for 
departure.  Two  rows  of  armed  men  lined  the  boulevard  as  far  as 
the  Place  of  the  Revolution,  and  a  profound  silence  accompanied 
the  passage  of  the  fatal  carriage.  Shortly  after  ten  Louis  XVL 
arrived  at  the  place  of  his  execution.  A  space  had  been  kept 
vacant  round  the  scaffold  and  cannon  were  planted  in  every  direc- 
tion. The  king  undressed  himself,  and'  when  he  refused  to  allow 
the  executioner  to  bind  his  hands,  the  Abbe  Edgeworth  said  to  him : 
"  Suffer  this  outrage,  which  is  but  a  final  point  of  resemblance 
between  your  fate  and  that  of  the  God  who  will  be  your  recompense." 
Louis  submitted,  and  allowed  himself  to  be  bound  and  led  upon 
the  scaffold.  He  attempted  to  address  the  armed  multitude  that 
filled  the  square,  but  the  rolling  of  drums  drowned  his  voice.  The 
executioners  did  their  work  and  the  head  of  Louis  XVL  fell  into 
the  basket.  When  the  executioner  raised  the  head  and  displayed 
it  to  the  people,  the  silence  was  broken  by  loud  cries  of  "  Long  live 
the  republic!    Long  live  liberty!" 

After  what  occurred  on  January  21  mdignant  Europe  flew 
to  arms  with  one  accord.  Thenceforth  the  revolution  had  for 
its  declared  enemies  England,  Holland,  Spain,  the  whole  Ger- 
man confederation,  Na])les,  the  Holy  See,  and  Russia;  while  almost 
at  the  same  time  the  Vendee,  in  western  Erance,  arose  in  formidable 
revolt.     The  h'rench  government  had  now  to  contend  with,  besides 


THE     FIRST     REPUBLIC  28B 

1793 

enemies  at  home,  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousantl  of  the  be>t 
troops  in  lun-ope,  who  were  moving-  upon  the  frontiers  in  c\ery 
direction.  'i"o  meet  such  a  C()ml)ination  of  perils  a  ]e\y  of  tlu'ce 
hundred  thousand  men  was  ordered,  and  an  extraorchnary  and 
revolutionary  tribunal  of  nine  members,  whose  decrees  were  to 
be  without  appeal,  was  established  f(>r  tlie  purpose  of  punishin<^  the 
members  of  the  counter  revolution,  'idie  (iirondists  resisted  the 
establishment  of  a  tribunal  so  arbitrarv  and  formidable,  but  their 
resistance  was  useless.  Branded  by  the  name  of  intriguers  and 
enemies  of  the  people,  their  destruction  was  already  resoh'cd  on. 
Idle  insurrection  in  the  Vendee  redoubled  the  fury  of  the  Jacobins. 
There  the  manners  of  old  times  were  maintained  t(3gether  with 
the  feudal  customs;  there  the  country  jjopulations  remained  sub- 
missive to  the  priests  and  nobles,  the  latter  of  whom  had  not  emi- 
grated. 

The  call  for  three  hundred  thousand  men  excited  a  gen- 
eral insurrection  in  the  Vendee,  the  chief  leaders  being  a  wagoner 
named  Cathelineau,  a  naval  officer  named  Charettc,  and  Stolllet,  a 
gamekeeper,  while  the  nobles  Bonchamp,  Lescure,  La  Rochejaquelin, 
D'Elbee,  and  Talmont  joined  and  supported  the  movement  with 
the  utmost  energy.  They  vanquished  the  troops  of  the  line,  and 
the  battalions  of  the  national  guard  which  were  sent  against  them. 
This  formidable  insurrection  provoked  the  convention  to  still  more 
cruel  measures  against  the  priests  and  nobles.  Every  one  who 
took  part  in  any  riot  was  put  beyond  the  ])ale  of  the  law;  the  prop- 
erty of  the  emigrants  was  confiscated  and  the  revolutionary  tribunal 
commenced  its  frightful  functions. 

Another  enemy  now  appeared.  Dumouriez,  after  an  unsuc- 
cessful invasion  of  Holland,  had  been  vanciuished  at  the  l)attle  of 
Neerwinden  by  the  I'rince  c^f  Coburg,  the  Airstrian  commander- 
in-chief,  and  had  been  compelled  to  evacuate  Belgium.  Long  since, 
at  open  war  with  the  Jacobins,  he  had  meditated  their  overthrow 
and  the  reestablishment  of  the  constitutional  monarchy.  \\'ith  this 
object  in  view',  he  resolved  to  turn  against  the  existing  government 
and  to  march  upon  Paris  in  concert  with  the  Austrians.  The  con- 
vention having  gained  a  knowledge  of  his  projects  sent  to  arrest 
him  in  the  midst  of  his  soldiers,  and  Dumouriez,  finding  that  he 
could  not  rely  on  their  support,  was  compelled  to  pass  over  in  haste 
to  the  enem}'s  camp. 

The  Girondists  made  as  se\ere  animadversions  on  his  conduct 


284  FRAN  C  E 

1793 

as  did  the  ^Mountain,  l)iit  they  were  nevertheless  accused  of  being  in 
compHcity  ^\•ith  him.  Vcrgniand,  Brissot,  Gaiidet,  Gensonnc,  and 
I'etion  were  more  especially  denounced  by  Robespierre  and  Marat. 
Gaudet,  with  the  object  of  freeing  the  assembly  from  the  tyranny 
of  the  Jacobins  and  the  commune,  proposed  bold  measures,  such 
as  the  dissolution  of  the  municipality  and  the  assembling  of  the 
convention  at  Bourges.  This  and  other  measures  soon  provoked 
a  war  to  the  death  between  the  Girondists  and  the  municipality. 
Determined  to  put  an  end  to  their  influence  in  the  convention  and 
to  render  the  convention  itself  completely  subject  to  their  own  will, 
the  Jacobin  and  Cordelier  clubs  and  the  sections  declared  their  sit- 
tings permanent  and  organized  a  formidable  insurrection  with  the 
\  iew  of  crushing  the  Girondists  at  once  and  forever. 

Hanriot  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  armed  force  of 
Paris.  Forty  sous  per  day  were  promised  to  the  sansculottes,  as 
the  partisans  of  the  commune  and  the  Jacobins  were  styled,  so 
long  as  they  should  be  under  arms.  The  alarm  gun  was  fired,  the 
tocsin  was  sounded,  and  on  June  2  several  thousand  armed  men 
surrounded  the  convention.  Lanjuinais  denounced  the  projects 
of  the  factions  and  concluded  by  moving  that  all  the  revolutionary 
authorities  in  the  capital  should  be  deposed.  The  insurgent  petition- 
ers entered  at  that  moment  and  demanded  his  arrest  and  that  of 
tlie  other  Girondists.  A  violent  debate  took  place,  in  the  midst  of 
which  Delacroix  rushed  into  the  hall,  complaining  of  outrages  to 
whicli  he  had  been  subjected  by  the  mob,  and  declaring  that  the 
convention  was  not  free.  The  Mountain  itself  was  indignant;  Dan- 
ton  exclaimed  that  the  national  majesty  must  be  avenged.  The 
whole  of  the  convention  arose  and  set  forth  with  the  president  at  its 
head.  Surrounded  on  every  side,  it  reentered  the  hall  of  assembly 
in  a  state  of  profound  discouragement,  where  it  no  longer  opposed 
the  arrest  of  the  proscribed  deputies,  and  Marat  constituted  himself 
dictator  as  to  the  fate  of  its  members.  Twenty-nine  Girondists  were 
arrested  in  the  midst  of  the  assembly,  and  the  satisfied  multitude 
dispersed,  h'rom  that  moment  the  Girondist  party  was  crushed,  and 
the  convention  was  no  longer  free. 

The  Girondists,  Petion,  Barbaroux,  Gaudet,  Louvet,  Buzot,  and 
Lanjuinais  succeeded  in  escaping,  and  took  advantage  of  the  in- 
dignation excited  throughout  France  by  the  events  of  May  31 
and  June  2  to  arr)usc  tl]e  departments  to  arms.  Brittany  took  part 
in   the   movement,    and    the    insurgents,    under   the    name    of   the 


THE     FIRST     REPUBLIC  285 

1703 

assembly  of  the  departments,  assembled  at  Caen,  formed  an  army 
comanded  by  General  Wimpfen.  and  made  preparations  for  march- 
ing upon  Paris.  It  was  from  there  that  set  out  the  heroic  Char- 
lotte Corday,  a  young  girl  endowed  with  an  ardent  soul,  as 
courageous  as  it  was  enthusiastic,  v.ho  stabbed  ]\Larat  in  his  bath 
and  died  on  the  scaffold  with  e,\em])lary  courage.  In  the  mean- 
time the  dangers  by  which  the  convention  was  surroundeil  l)ecame 
greater  every  day.  The  principal  cities  of  the  kingdom  and  nearly 
two-thirds  of  the  departments  were  in  a  state  of  revolt.  Lyons  on 
May  29  declared  against  the  convention;  Marseilles  rose  at  the 
same  time;  Toulon,  Nimes.  and  ?\Iontauban  followed  this  example, 
and  in  all  those  cities  the  royalists  headed  the  UKTvemcnt.  They 
summoned  the  English  to  Toulon  to  their  aid,  and  Admiral  Hood 
entered  that  place  to  proclaim  the  young  dauphin,  son  of  Louis 
XVL,  king,  by  the  name  of  Louis  X\TI.  P)ordcanx.  equally 
in  a  state  of  revolt,  declared  in  favor  of  the  deputies  proscribed 
on  June  2.  The  insurrection  extended  to  the  west;  the  \'cn- 
deans  became  masters  of  Bressuirc,  Argenton,  and  Thouars:  forty 
thousand  men  under  Cathelineau,  Lcscure,  Stofllet,  and  La  l\(K'he- 
jacquelin,  took  Saumur  and  Angers,  and  threw  th.emsclves  up'Mi 
Nantes.  The  position  of  the  republic  was  no  more  happv  abroad. 
It  was  in  vain  that  Custine  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the 
army  of  the  north ;  Alayence  capitulated  after  a  splendid  resistance, 
which  obtained  for  its  defenders  the  title  of  Ma^-cnc^ais ;  the  enemy 
took  Valenciennes  and  Conde;  the  frontier  \\as  crossed,  and  the 
French  army,  greatly  discouraged,  retired  belr'n.d  the  Scarpe,  the 
last  defensive  position  between  the  enemy  and  Paris. 

The  convention  resolved  boldly  to  face  all  these  perils  which 
it  had  itself  excited.  To  meet  the  necessities  of  the  moment  it 
appointed  a  committee  of  public  safety,  v.hose  ])rinci])rd  members 
were  Robespierre,  Saint-Just,  C^)uthon,  Cohot  d'llerbois.  Ih'lhuid- 
Vareimes,  Carnot,  Cambon,  and  Inarrere.  The  latter  was  the  official 
mouthpiece  of  the  committee;  Camb(,>n  watched  over  t!ie  finances 
and  Carnot  over  the  armies.  The  excitement  of  the  people  was  no\v 
extreme.  The  deputies  of  the  municipalities  demanded  at  the  bar  of 
the  convention  the  arrest  of  all  suspected  ])ersons.  and  a  lew  01- 
massc  of  the  whole  nation.  All  the  young  men  of  from  eighteen 
to  twenty  years  of  age  were  summ()ned  to  join  the  armv.  and  brance 
speedily  had  at  her  command  fourteen  armies  and  nearlv  a  million 
soldiers.     But  terror  was  employed  to  obtain  means  for  their  suj)- 


286  FRANCE 

1793 

port.  Violent  and  incessant  requisitions  were  made  upon  the  middle 
classes  and  two  severe  laws  were  i)assed,  the  law  of  the  maximum, 
which  compelled,  on  pain  of  death,  all  proprietors  and  merchants 
to  furnish  at  a  certain  price  all  the  provisions  which  the  government 
might  require,  and  the  law  of  suspected  persons,  which  authorized 
the  preliminary  and  unlimited  imprisonment  of  every  person  sus- 
pected of  conspiracy  against  the  revolution.  France,  transformed 
into  a  camp  for  one  portion  of  its  population,  became  a  prison  for 
another.  The  men  of  commercial  pursuits  and  the  bourgeoisie 
furnished  the  prisoners,  and  were  placed,  as  well  as  the  authorities, 
under  the  surveillance  of  the  mob,  as  represented  by  the  club,  which 
the  convention  desired  at  any  price  to  attach  to  itself.  Every  poor 
person  received  forty  sous  a  day  to  be  present  at  the  assembly  of 
his  section ;  certificates  of  citizens  were  given  out,  and  each  section 
had  its  revolutionary  committee. 

By  these  violent  methods  the  convention  obtained  temporary 
resources  sufficient  to  enable  it  to  triumph  over  its  enemies.  The 
reactionists  of  Calvados  were  put  to  flight  at  Vernon.  Caen  and 
Bordeaux  submitted,  and  Toulon  and  Lyons,  after  a  desperate 
struggle,  fell  in  succession  before  the  Republican  arms.  The  Ven- 
dee alone  long  continued  an  heroic  and  terrible  contest,  but  the 
Vendeans  after  defeating  the  best  of  the  republican  generals  were 
ultimately  vanquished  in  their  turn,  after  losing  all  their  leaders, 
including  Cathelineau  and  Henry  of  Rochejacquelin,  while  their 
country  was  devastated  by  fire  and  sword  by  twelve  flying  columns 
under  the  orders  of  General  Turrcau.  The  republic  was  at  the 
same  time  victorious  on  the  frontiers.  That  of  the  north  was  the 
most  seriously  threatened.  The  Duke  of  York  besieged  Dunkirk 
with  thirty-three  thousand  men;  Freytag  covered  the  siege  with 
another  army  posted  on  the  Yser ;  the  Prince  of  Orange  commanded 
fifteen  thousand  Dutch  at  ]\Ienin  and  a  hundred  thousand  soldiers 
of  the  allied  armies,  extending  from  Ouesnoy  to  the  Moselle, 
besieged  the  strong  places  which  defended  the  passes.  To  prevent 
the  invasion  of  France,  it  was  necessary  to  cut  this  formidable  line 
and  to  raise  the  siege  of  Dunkirk.  Houchard,  in  command  of  the 
army  of  the  north,  suddenly  marched  from  this  place  with  very 
inferior  forces,  and  fell  upon  Freytag,  who,  after  two  sanguinary 
.'ictions  on  the  Yser  and  at  Hondtschoote,  in  which  he  was  defeated, 
fell  back  in  disorder  upon  Furnes.  The  raising  of  the  siege  of 
Dunkirk  was  one  of  the  fruits  of  this  victory,  the  news  of  which 


T  H  E     ¥  1  R  ft  T     n  E  V  i:  B  L  I  C  287 

1793 

was  received  with  enthusiasm.  In  the  meantime  the  Austrians 
under  the  IVince  oi  Coburg  had  invested  Ahaubcugc.  covering  tlie 
siege  by  occupying  the  positions  of  ])ourlens  and  Wattignies.  but 
a  successful  attack  on  the  latter  by  Jonrdan.  wlio  had  supcr>edcd 
Houchard  in  command  of  the  armv  of  the  north,  compelled  the 
allies  to  raise  the  siege  of  IMaubougc  and  concentrate  th.cir  tronps 
between  the  Scheldt  and  the  Sambre.  This  enabled  Jourdan  to 
resume  the  offensive.  Kellermann  at  tlic  same  time  dnnc  the 
Piedmontese  beyond  the  Alps.  France  lost  on  the  Pyrenees  the 
lines  of  the  Tech,  and  its  army  was  forced  to  fall  back  in  front  of 
Perpignan.  The  lines  of  \\'cissenl)urg  were  also  ftMxed  by  the 
Prussians  and  Austrians  under  Brunswick  and  W'urmser.  lUit 
Hoche,  at  the  head  of  the  army  of  the  3>loselle.  drove  back  W'urmser 
and  effected  his  junction  with  the  army  of  the  Kliine  under  Jour- 
dan. Brunswick  followed  A\'urmser's  retrograde  mo\-cmcnt  and 
thenceforth  the  two  French  armies  C(oml)ined  adwanccd  and  en- 
camped in  the  Palatinate.  Fran.ce  in  its  struggle  with  F.uropc 
recovered  all  that  it  had  lost,  with  the  exception  of  Condc,  Valen- 
ciennes, and  a  few  strong  places  in  Roussillon. 

^Meanwhile,  the  committee  of  public  safety  exercised  an  almost 
arbitrary  authority  in  France.  The  executi\e  author  it  v  was  con- 
centrated in  the  hands  of  this  committee,  which  held  the  lives  and 
fortunes  of  everyone  in  its  power.  After  e.acli  \ictory  obtained 
over  its  enemies  within  by  the  re])ublic,  it  ordered  frigluful  execu- 
tions or  horrible  massacres.  Pnirrere  ordered  the  extei'minatiou 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Lyons,  and  Collot  d'ilcrbois,  ]'\)uche  and 
Couthon  were  the  barbarous  executors  of  tlie  decrees  of  the  com- 
mittee against  this  unfortunate  city.  The  scaffold  was  too  slow  an 
instrument  for  their  vengeance,  and  tlie  \  an(|nishcd  insurgents  were 
mowed  down  by  musketry  in  the  public  pl;iccs.  Toulon,  Caen. 
^Marseilles  and  Bordeaux  became  the  theater  of  horrible  scen.es.  At 
Paris  the  most  illustrious  men  and  the  leaders  of  all  parties  were 
dragged  to  the  scaffold;  the  fiueen.  Marie  Antoinette,  and  Baillv 
perished  within  a  few  days  of  each  otlicr.  The  Gir;)n(lists  wlu)  were 
proscribed  on  June  2  soon  followed  them,  and  walked  to  tlieir  deatli 
with  the  most  stoical  courage.  The  Duke  of  Orleans,  Phili]:)  I^galite. 
as  he  was  nicknamed  by  the  sansculottes,  wh(j  had  voted  for  the 
death  of  the  king,  was  not  spared;  Ikirnave  and  Duporl-Dutertre 
w-ere  immolated,  and  with  them  the  Generals  Houchard,  Custine, 
Biron,  Beauharnais  and  many  others.      All  the  fugitive  Giroiidi.^ts 


288  FRANCE 

1793-1794 

were  put  beyond  the  pale  of  the  law.  Two  hundred  thousand  sus- 
pected persons  were  imprisoned.  The  public  credit  was  annihilated 
and  the  expenses  of  the  government  were  largely  supplied  by  the 
sale  of  the  property  of  the  proscribed  persons,  and  by  despotic 
measures  which  were  enforced  by  threats.  It  was  desired  to  con- 
secrate, by  the  establishment  of  a  new  era,  a  revolution  unexampled 
in  history,  and  the  divisions  of  the  year,  the  names  of  the  months 
and  days,  were  changed,  and  the  Christian  calendar  was  replaced 
by  a  republican  calendar.  The  new^  era  wms  dated  from  September 
22,  1792,  the  period  at  wdiich  the  republic  was  founded.  But  this 
was  not  enough  for  the  commune  of  Paris,  which  demanded  the 
abolition  of  Christianity,  decreed  the  worship  of  reason,  and  es- 
tablished fetes.  It  was  only  when  its  career  of  crime  and  folly 
had  reached  its  height  that  the  revolutionary  movement  of  the 
commune  received  a  check.  When  its  madness  had  reached  a  cer- 
tain point  the  committee  of  public  safety  declared  itself  against  it. 

Danton  and  his  friends,  Camille  Desmoulins,  Philippeaux, 
Lacroix,  Fabre  d'Eglantine  and  Westermann  wished  to  establish  a 
legal  system  of  order,  and  desired  to  suspend  the  functions  of  the 
revolutionary  tribunal.  This  rendered  Robespierre's  colleagues  in 
the  committee  of  public  safety  furious  against  Desmoulins  and 
the  Dantonists,  and  Robespierre  agreed  to  deliver  the  latter  into 
their  power,  in  return  for  the  heads  of  the  principal  anarchists  of 
the  commune.  He  then  proceeded  to  denounce  to  the  convention 
as  enemies  of  the  republic,  in  the  first  place  the  ultra-revolutionists, 
and  in  the  second  the  Dantonists,  whom  he  called  the  moderates, 
demanding  that  the  government  should  be  endowed  with  the  most 
extensive  powers  for  the  purpose  of  punishing  them.  The  leaders 
of  the  commune,  Hebert,  Clootz  and  their  accomplices,  were  the 
first  of  all  seized,  condemned  and  were  finally  executed  on  March 
24,  1794. 

'Die  turn  of  Danton  and  his  friends  had  now  come.  They 
were  arrested  on  J\Iarch  30,  and  Robespierre  prevented  their  being 
heard  in  the  assembly.  Saint-Just  read  the  accusation  against  the 
accused,  and  the  assembly,  a  prey  to  a  stupor  of  fear,  decreed  their 
trial.  On  being  brought  before  the  revolutionary  tribunal  they 
distinguished  themselves  1)y  their  openly  expressed  contempt  for 
their  judges,  and  after  their  condemnation  they  walked  boldly  to 
their  punishment  through  the  midst  of  a  silent  crowd.  From  that 
day  no  voice  was  raised  for  some  time  against  the  decemvirs,  and 


THE     FIRST     REPT^BLIC  289 

1794 

the  convention  decreed  that  ''  Terror  and  all  the  virtues  were  the 
order  of  the  day."  During-  four  months  the  power  of  the  two 
formidable  committees,  that  of  the  pnl)lic  safety  and  that  of  the 
general  security,  continued  to  be  unlimited,  and  death  became  the 
only  instrument  of  government.  Hie  agents  of  the  committee  of 
public  safety  in  the  departments  distinguished  themselves  by  their 
atrocities.  At  Orleans  the  princi])al  inhabitants  were  slain ;  at 
Verdun  seventeen  young  girls,  accused  of  having  danced  at  a  ball 
given  by  the  I^russians,  perished  on  tlie  scaffold  on  the  same  day ; 
at  Paris,  among  the  most  illustrious  victims  of  this  period  may  be 
mentioned  the  octogenarian  marshals,  Xoaillcs  and  ]\laille,  the  min- 
isters ]\Iachault  and  La\-erdi,  the  learned  Lavoisier,  the  venerable 
Lamoignon  of  IMaleshcrbes,  three  members  of  the  constituent 
assembly,  D'Epremesnil,  Thouret  and  Chapel ier,  and  finally  the 
Princess  Elizabeth.  Robespierre  and  Saint-Just  associated  with 
themselves  the  paralytic  and  pitiless  C'outhon  and  formed  together, 
even  within  the  committee  itself,  a  formidable  triumvirate,  which, 
by  isolating,  destroyed  itself.  Robespierre  had  now  attained  the 
height  of  his  power,  a  culmination  that  was  to  be  speedily  followed 
by  his  fall.  On  June  9  lie  caused  Couthon  to  jirc^posc  a  law.  accord- 
ing to  which  accused  persons  were  to  be  refused  the  advice  of  coun- 
sel, and  to  be  tried  in  groups,  while  the  juries  were  t(^  be  bound  by 
no  other  rule  than  that  of  their  own  consciences.  It  was  adopted 
and  the  judges  of  the  revolutionary  tribunal  were  scarcely  sufficient 
to  carry  out  the  l)loody  work  assigned  to  them.  Tn  Paris  alone 
fifty  victims  a  day  were  dragged  off  to  punishment.  The  scaffold 
was  transferred  to  the  suburb  Saint-Antoine,  and  a  drain  was 
constructed  to  receive  and  carry  off  the  blood  that  was  shed 
on  it. 

In  the  campaign  of  1794  the  northern  frontier  was  still  the 
chief  theater  of  the  war.  The  French  occupied  Lille.  Guise  and 
Maubeuge,  under  the  command  of  Pichegru.  The  Prince  of 
Coburg,  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  allied  armies,  commenced 
operations  1w  the  blockade  of  Landrecies,  the  English,  under  the 
Duke  of  York,  covering  the  blockade  on  the  side  of  Cambrai, 
Coburg  posting  himself  on  the  side  of  Ciuise.  and  the  Austrian  gen- 
eral, Clairfait,  extending  his  forces  in  front  of  Alenin  and  Courtray. 
Generals  Souham  and  Moreau  assuming  the  offensive,  marched 
rapidly  from  Lille,  and  obtained  at  AFouscron  a  victory  over  Clair- 
fait,   which   was    followed    bv   another   over    tlie    Duke    of   York 


290  FRANCE 

1794 

at  Tiircoin,  whither  lie  had  marched  to  prevent  the  junction  of 
Souham's  troo])s  witli  a  large  body  under  Jourdan  detached  from 
the  army  of  tlic  Moselle.  The  enemy,  however,  rallied  before 
Tournay,  and  held  the  French  in  check,  whereupon  Landrecies  fell. 
Jourdan  now  came  up  with  the  army  of  the  Moselle  and  effected 
a  junction  with  the  army  in  the  north.  Pichegru  besieged  Ypres, 
and  vanquished  Clairfait,  who  advanced  to  its  succor,  at  Hoogh- 
lede,  while  Jourdan  invested  Charleroi  and  occupied  the  banks  of 
the  Sambre.  The  princes  of  Orange  and  Coburg  marched  to  the 
relief  of  this  important  place,  but  before  they  arrived  Charleroi 
had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  French,  and  Jourdan  defeated  the 
allies,  who  were  advancing  in  ignorance  of  its  loss  on  the  plains 
of  Fleurus.  Coburg  ordered  a  retreat  on  Brussels,  but  Pichegru 
advanced  more  quickly  than  he,  and  promptly  occupied  that  city. 
The  enemy,  dispersed,  fell  back  towards  the  Meuse  and  the  Rhine, 
and  France  not  only  recovered  all  the  places  she  liad  lost,  but  made 
new  conquests.  Pichegru  continued  his  march  towards  the  mouth 
of  the  Scheldt  and  the  Meuse,  driving  back  the  English  towards  the 
sea,  while  Jourdan,  after  defeating  Clairfait  on  the  Ourthe  and 
Roer,  tributaries  of  the  Meuse,  pursued  the  Austrians  as  far  as  the 
Rhine,  and  took  Cologne,  Maestricht,  Bois-le-Duc  and  Venloo. 
The  Duke  of  York  fell  back  towards  Nimeguen  on  the  Waal,  where 
Pichegru  speedily  arrived  to  engage  him.  On  November  8  this 
place  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  French,  and  with  this  last  and 
brilliant  success  terminated  this  glorious  campaign  in  the  north. 
The  effect  of  these  successes  was  felt  by  the  armies  of  the  Moselle 
and  the  upper  Rhine,  commanded  by  General  Alichaud.  The 
Prussians  recrossed  the  Rhine,  and  the  French  blockaded  Luxem- 
burg and  Mayence,  which  still  remained  in  the  possession  of  the 
allies.  Dugommier  and  Monccy  promptly  repaired  tlie  first  reverses 
on  the  frontiers  of  Spain,  and  having  driven  the  Spaniards  out  of 
France,  invaded  the  Peninsula,  where  Moncey  took  Saint  Sebastian 
and  Fontarabia. 

Such  was  the  prosperous  state  of  France  abroad;  at  home  the 
rivalry  of  the  groups  in  the  committee  of  public  safety  was  rapidly 
leading  to  a  catastrophe.  Robespierre,  irritated  at  the  resistance 
of  Tallien  and  his  su])porters  to  his  views,  was  resolved  to  crush 
and  destroy  them,  and  they  perceived  that  they  must  either  antici- 
pate his  designs  or  be  his  victims.  They  first  accused  him  of 
tyranny  in  the  committees,  which  Robespierre,  relying  on  the  sup- 


THE     FIRST     RKPrJlLIC  291 

1794 

port  of  the  Jacobins  and  the  mob,  denounced  as  enemies  to  tlie 
republic  in  the  convention.  His  aecusalion  was  referred  iOr  exami- 
nation to  the  very  committee  which  lie  had  denounced,  and 
Robespierre,  enraged  by  the  coldness  which  the  convention  showed 
towards  him,  took  measures  in  concert  with  tlie  Jacobin  club  to 
excite  an  insurrection  in  Paris.  The  session  of  July  27,  1794, 
opened  under  the  most  threatening-  auspices.  Saint-Just  ascended 
the  tribune,  and  opposite  him  was  seated  Robespierre;  Tallicn  and 
Billaud  interrupted  Saint-Just  and  commenced  the  attack.  Rol.'cs- 
pierre  jumped  forward  to  reply  to  them,  when  a  cry  arose  from 
every  side  of  "Down  with  the  tyrant!"  Ilis  arrest  was  imme- 
diately proposed.  His  brother  and  Lebas  requested  to  be  allowed 
to  share  his  fate,  and  the  assembly  unaninnvjsly  ordered  that  they 
should  be  arrested  along  with  Robespierre,  Couthon,  Saint-Just 
and  Hanriot.  The  victory,  however,  was  still  uncertain.  Robes- 
pierre and  his  companions  were  released  and  taken  to  the  Hotel  de 
Ville,  where  the  commune  had  declared  for  them.  Hanriot  had 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  committee  of  pul)hc  safety,  but  soon 
after  escaped  and  gathered  a  few  thousand  troops  in  the  square 
before  the  Hotel  de  Ville.  The  convention  now  assumed  the  offen- 
sive, and  put  Robespierre  and  his  associates  bex-onrl  th.e  pale  of  the 
law.  The  sections  and  the  clubs  had  not  yet  taken  his  side  and  the 
action  of  the  assembly  turned  the  scales  against  liim.  At  mid- 
night a  heavy  rain  dispersed  the  armed  men  gathered  in  the  scjuare 
of  the  Hotel  de  Ville.  The  battalions  of  the  sections  swore  to 
defend  the  assembly  and  marched  at  midnight  upon  the  commune, 
to  which  Robespierre  had  been  carried  in  triumph,  and  where  he 
now  sat  motionless,  and  as  though  paralyzed  by  terror.  The 
Hotel  de  Ville  was  surrounded  witli  cries  of  "  Long  live  the  con- 
vention!  "  Despair  and  rage  took  possession  of  those  who  had 
been  proscribed.  Lebas  killed  himself;  young  Robespierre  threw 
himself  from  a  third-floor  window  and  survixcd  his  fall;  Coutlu^n 
struck  himself  with  a  trembling  hand;  Ccjftlnhal  overwhehr.ed  Han- 
riot with  execrations,  and  threw  him  from  a  window  into  a  sewer, 
and  Robespierre  probably  attempted  to  take  his  own  life,  but  suc- 
ceeded only  in  shattering  his  jawbone.  He  was  seized,  together 
with  his  colleagues  and  the  jirincipal  members  of  the  commune,  .and 
on  the  following  day  thev  were  sent  without  trial  to  the  scaffold. 
The  spectators  cursed  Robespierre  as  he  was  drawn,  trembling  with 
fear,   to   the   guillotine;   and   at   the   moment   when   his   head    fell 


292  FRAN  C  E 

1794-1795 

beneath   the  knife  prolonged  shouts  filled   the   air.      France  once 
more  breathed  freely,  and  the  reign  of  terror  was  at  an  end. 

Two  new  parties  were  now  formed :  that  of  the  Committees 
and  that  of  the  Mountain,  which  had  contributed  with  Tallien  to 
the  victory  of  July  2^.  The  first  party  relied  on  the  Jacobin  club 
and  the  suburbs,  and  the  second  on  the  majority  of  the  conven- 
tion and  the  national  guard,  or  armed  sections.  A  great  number 
of  prisoners  were  set  free  during  the  days  which  followed  the  fall 
of  Robespierre,  and  seventy-two  members  of  the  commune  perished 
on  the  scaffold  with  Fouquier-Tinville  and  other  prominent  men 
among  the  terrorists.  The  members  of  the  revolutionary  tribunal 
were  replaced  and  the  powers  of  the  committees  were  diminished. 
The  odious  law  relative  to  the  criminal  procedure  was  abolished. 
The  convention  recalled  to  its  assembly  seventy-three  deputies  who 
had  been  proscribed  for  having  protested  against  the  condemnation 
of  the  Girondists;  revoked  the  decrees  of  expulsion  issued  against 
the  priests  and  nobles;  reestablished  public  worship:  suppressed 
the  maximum,  and  had  the  bust  of  Marat  in  its  own  liall  broken. 
A  new  crop  of  evils,  however,  was  produced  by  the  sudden  reac- 
tion. Millions  of  assignats  had  been  sent  into  circulation,  and 
when  there  were  no  longer  any  violent  laws  to  enforce  their  cur- 
rency they  immediately  fell  fifteen  times  below  their  first  value ; 
coin  disappeared  from  circulation,  and  the  prodigious  fall  in  the 
value  of  the  assignats  was  followed  by  a  wild  system  of  speculation 
which  ruined  a  multitude  of  families.  Monopoly  succeeded  the 
terrible  law  of  the  maximum,  and  the  farmers  avenged  themselves 
for  their  long  and  cruel  oppression  by  holding  back  provisions  of  all 
kinds.  Famine  now  made  its  appearance,  and  the  lower  orders  of 
the  suburbs  regretted  the  time  when  the  system  of  government 
gave  them  bread  and  power,  and  once  more  had  recourse  to  tumults. 
At  last,  on  April  20,  1795,  a.  savage,  hungry  mob  of  armed  men  and 
women,  who  cared  little  for  order  and  justice,  and  desired  the 
renewal  of  the  support  that  the  revolutionary  government  had 
afforded  them,  marched  upon  the  convention,  which,  taken  by  sur- 
prise, called  the  sections  to  arms.  The  doors  of  the  hall  of  assem- 
bly were  broken  through,  and  the  mob  invaded  the  tribunes,  crying 
out,  "  Bread !  and  the  constitution  of  '93 !  "  The  hall  of  the  assem- 
bly speedily  became  a  field  of  battle,  and  a  few  of  the  deputies,  who 
were  favorable  to  the  insurrectionary  movement,  took  the  opportu- 
nity of  seizing  the  bureaux,  and  decreeing  by  themselves  alone  the 


THE     FIRST     REPUBLIC  293 

1795 

articles  contained  in  the  insurgents'  manifesto.  But  the  battahons 
of  the  sections  now  arrived,  possessed  themselves  of  the  Carrousel, 
entered  the  hall  of  assemljjy  with  fixed  bayonets,  and  drove  the 
crowd  before  them.  The  members  returned  in  a  body,  annulled 
the  votes  w^hich  had  been  passed  during  the  tumult,  ami  ordered  the 
arrest  of  fourteen  of  their  number  who  had  been  accomplices  of 
the  insurgents.  Three  days  after,  the  suburbs  of  Paris,  which 
had  supported  the  insurrection,  were  surrounded  and  disarmed. 
The  convention  then  suppressed  the  revolutionary  committee  and 
abolished  the  constitution  of  1793.  Thus  ended  the  rule  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  from  this  time  the  Girondist  party  became  predominant  in 
the  assembly. 

During  the  last  days  of  1794  the  cold  became  excessive,  and 
the  French  troops,  under  Pichegru,  crossed  the  Meuse  and  Waal 
on  the  ice,  and  entered  Holland  at  several  points,  upon  which  the 
Duke  of  York  and  his  army  retreated  in  disorder  upon  Deventer, 
while  the  Prince  of  Orange  remained  immovable  at  Gorcum.  In 
a  short  time  the  whole  of  Holland  was  conquered.  The  stadthokler 
fled  to  England  and  the  States-General  governed  the  republic,  which 
formed  a  close  alliance  with  France.  Prussia,  being  now  threat- 
ened, concluded  a  peace  at  Basel,  and  Spain  signed  a  treaty  wdiich 
provided  that  the  French  conquests  in  the  peninsula  should  be 
exchanged  for  the  Spanish  portion  of  St.  Domingo.  On  the  Rhine, 
Luxemburg  was  reduced  by  famine  on  June  24.  but  it  was  not  until 
September  6  that  the  French  could  cross  the  river,  the  right  bank 
of  which  was  defended  by  the  Austrians  under  Clairfait  and 
Wurmser.  The  passage  of  the  river,  however,  wdiich  was  effected 
simultaneously  by  Jourdan  and  Pichegru.  was  rendered  of  little 
effect  by  the  latter,  wdio,  having  come  to  an  understanding  with  the 
Prince  of  Conde,  the  leader  of  the  emigrant  party,  allow'ed  himself 
to  be  beaten  disgracefully  by  Clairfait,  and  then  shut  himself  up  in 
Mannheim.  Clairfait  now  marched  against  Jourdan,  wdio  was 
forced  to  retreat  and  cross  the  river,  wdiile  the  troops  investing 
Mayence  were  compelled  by  the  Austrians  to  raise  the  siege  and 
retire  to  the  foot  of  the  Vosges,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine.  The 
important  treaty  concluded  with  Sj)ain  enabled  the  armies  of  the 
Pyrenees  and  of  the  maritime  Alps  to  effect  a  junction,  and  Scherer, 
who  had  superseded  Kellermann  in  the  cliief  command,  now 
attempted  a  bold  stroke.  Massena,  by  his  orders,  crossed  the  crest 
of  the  Apennines  and  divided  the  Piedmontese  and  the  Austrians, 


294  FRANCE 

1795 

while  Serrurier  deceived  Colli,  the  Piedmontese  general,  by  a 
feig-ned  attack,  and  drove  the  Austrians  into  the  basin  of  the  Loano. 
A  complete  \ictory  was  the  result  of  this  skillful  maneuver. 

The  republican  arms  were  no  less  successful  in  the  Vendee, 
where  the  Marquis  of  Puisaye,  the  active  agent  of  the  royalist  party 
in  Brittany,  requested  and  obtained  the  aid  of  England,  and  Admiral 
Bridport  set  sail  with  two  divisions  of  emigrants,  commanded  by 
the  counts  of  Hervilly  and  Sombreuil,  a  third  following  under  the 
orders  of  the  Count  of  Artois.  An  engagement  took  place  off  Belle- 
Isle  between  the  fleet  of  Admiral  Bridport  and  that  of  the  republi- 
can admiral,  Villaret-Joyeuse.  Bridport,  having  gained  the  vic- 
tory, effected  the  disembarkation  of  the  two  divisions  in  the  Bay  of 
Ouiberon,  near  Vannes.  The  emigrants  immediately  marched 
against  the  republican  army,  but  were  repulsed,  and  mowed  down 
by  artillery.  A  storm  had  driven  away  the  fleet  and  retreat  was  im- 
possible. Hervilly  was  slain,  and  Sombreuil  and  eight  hundred  of 
his  troops,  compelled  to  capitulate,  were  tried  by  military  law  and 
shot  by  order  of  Tallien.  who  would  not  recognize  the  capitulation. 

England  made  a  fresh  effort  to  support  the  civil  war  in  the 
west,  and  an  English  fleet  carried  thither  a  French  prince,  the  Count 
of  Artois,  and  several  regiments.  At  the  summons  of  Charette  all 
the  coast  of  Brittany  took  up  arms  in  the  expectation  of  the  prince's 
disembarkation,  but  after  having  remained  for  some  weeks  at  Isle- 
Dieu,  the  Count  of  Artois  returned  to  England  without  having  set 
foot  on  the  Continent.  The  royal  cause  seemed  desperate,  and  in  this 
year  it  had  also  lost  the  dauphin,  the  son  of  Louis  XVI.,  who  had 
been  proclaimed  King  of  France  by  the  royalists  after  January 
21  by  the  title  of  Louis  XVII.  The  early  death  of  this  young 
prince  was  attributed  to  the  cruel  treatment  he  had  suffered  at 
the  hands  of  a  shoemaker  named  Simon,  with  whom  he  had  been 
placed  by  order  of  the  convention,  and  took  place  in  June,  1795.^ 
His  right  to  the  throne  passed  to  his  uncle,  Louis  Stanislas  Xavier, 
Count    of    Provence,    whom    the    emigrants    and    foreign    powers 

1  Ii  IS  not  at  all  certain  that  Louis  XVII.  died  in  prison.  This  is  one  of 
the  disputed  points  of  revolutionary  history.  The  child  buried  as  Louis  XVII. 
could  not  have  been  he,  as  was  sufficiently  demonstrated  a  few  years  ago  by  an 
examination  of  the  skeleton.  If  he  escaped,  the  Republicans  would  wish  to 
conceal  it.  The  brother  of  Louis  XVI.  gladly  accepted  the  report  of  the  child's 
death,  as  it  opened  to  him  the  way  to  the  throne.  In  later  years  a  person 
actually  appeared  claiming  to  be  the  young  prisoner,  but  Louis  XVIII.  refused 
to  recognize  him. 


THE     FIRST     RE  P  V  B  L  I  C  295 

1795 

thenceforth  recognized  as  Kiw^  of  hVance,  under  the  title  of  Lcnii.-. 
XVIII. 

A  strong-  fechng  against  the  convention  was  now  dominant 
among  the  middle  class  of  Paris  and  the  southern  departments  for 
the  crimes  it  had  sanctioned  and  permitted.  Serious  disturbances 
took  place  in  many  parts  of  France,  and  the  reaction  placed  the 
convention  in  peril  within  the  kingdom,  while  it  was  so  triumphant 
abroad.  The  emigrant  party,  having  lost  all  hope  of  being  able  to 
overthrow  it  by  force,  now^  had  recourse  to  the  sections  of  Paris, 
and  endeavored  to  bring  about  a  counter-revolution  by  means  oi 
the  constitution  of  the  year  III.  (1795),  which  placed  the  legislative 
power  in  two  councils,  that  of  the  five  hundred  and  that  of  the  an- 
cients, while  the  executive  power  was  intrusted  to  a  directory  of 
five  members.  The  initiative  in  the  proposal  of  laws  was  given  to 
the  five  hundred,  and  the  power  of  either  passing  or  rejecting  them 
resided  in  the  council  of  the  ancients.  The  five  directors  were  chosen 
by  the  two  councils  and  in  each  year  the  directory  was  renewed 
by  a  new  member.  The  memories  of  the  reign  of  terror  had  roused 
a  reactionary  feeling  in  the  middle  class  against  the  convention,  and 
its  members,  perceiving  the  danger  of  their  position  if  the  new 
councils  should  be  chosen  in  accordance  with  the  j)revailing  opinions, 
in  order  to  secure  for  themselves  a  majority  in  the  choice  of  the 
directors,  issued  decrees  in  August,  1795,  ordering  that  two-thirds 
of  the  members  of  the  convention  should  be  members  of  the  new 
councils. 

This  was  the  signal  for  a  serious  commotion.  The  royalist 
chiefs  of  the  sections  and  the  journalists  k)udly  exclaimed  against 
the  convention's  tyranny ;  the  burgesses  composing  the  national 
guard  nominated  a  college  of  electors  and  swore  to  defend  it  to 
the  death.  The  convention,  justly  alarmed,  declared  its  session 
permanent,  summoned  troops  to  its  aid.  and  dissolved  the  college 
of  electors.  Provoked  to  active  hostilities  by  an  attempt  to  suppress 
one  of  the  sections,  forty  thousand  burgesses  were  soon  under 
arms,  ready  to  march  against  the  convention,  llie  latter  made  Bar- 
ras  commander-in-chief,  who  obtained  the  assistance  of  a  young 
general  who  had  particularly  distinguished  himself  at  the  siege  of 
Toulon — Napoleon  Bonaparte.  It  was  he  who  in  October,  1795, 
made  the  preparations  for  the  defense  of  the  con\eniion.  The  in- 
surgents advanced  in  several  columns,  and  a  most  murderous  con- 
flict took  place  at  the  Pont  Royal  and  in  the  Rue  St.  Honore;  the 


996  FRANCE 

1795 

artillery  at  these  two  principal  points  broke  the  lines  of  the  in- 
surgents and  put  them  to  flight. 

This  victory  enabled  the  convention  immediately  to  devote  its 
attention  to  the  formation  of  the  councils  proposed  by  it,  two-thirds 
of  which  were  to  consist  of  its  own  members.  The  members  of 
the  directory  were  next  chosen,  and  the  deputies  of  the  convention 
appointed  La  Reveillere-Lepeaux,  Carnot,  Rewbel,  Le  Tourneur, 
and  Barras.  Immediately  after  this  the  convention  declared  its  ses- 
sion at  an  end,  after  it  had  had  three  years  of  existence,  from  Sep- 
tember 21,  1792,  to  October  28,  1795. 


Chapter    XVIII 

THE    DIRECTORY    AND    THE    RISE    OE    NAPOLEON 
BONAPARTE.     1795-1799 

THI^  directors  were  all,  with  the  exccptif^i  of  Carnot.  of 
moderate  capacity,  and  this  tended  to  render  their  position 
the  more  difficult. 
Their  first  care  was  to  establish  their  power,  and  they  succeeded 
in  doing  this  by  frankly  following  at  first  the  rules  laid  down  by  the 
constitution.  In  a  short  time  industry  and  commerce  began  to 
raise  their  heads,  the  supply  of  provisions  became  tolerably  abundant 
and  the  clubs  were  abandoned  for  the  workshops  and  the  fields.  The 
directory  exerted  itself  to  revive  agriculture,  industry,  and  the  arts, 
reestablished  the  public  exhibitions,  and  founded  primary,  central 
and  normal  schools.  The  wealthy  classes,  however,  were  still  the 
victims,  under  the  government  of  the  directory,  of  violent  and 
spoliative  measures.  The  necessities  of  the  republic  were  so  vast 
and  imperious  that  to  meet  them  the  govcrnmen.t  had  recourse  to 
forced  loans,  and  to  territorial  edicts,  the  latter  of  which  were 
to  be  employed  for  the  purpose  of  withdrawing  the  assignats 
from  circulation  on  the  scale  of  thirty  to  one,  and  to  l)ring  coin 
into  circulation.  They  possessed  the  advantage  of  being  immediately 
exchangeable  for  the  national  domains  which  they  represented  and 
furnished  the  government  with  a  temporary  resource.  lUtt  they 
subsequently  fell  into  discredit,  and  conduced  to  a  prodigious  bank- 
ruptcy of  thirty-three  thousand  millions. 

The  war  in  the  west  was  now  only  carried  on  by  a  few  leaders. 
the  chief  of  whom  were  Charette  and  Stofilet.  Hoche  vanquished 
the  former  and  took  him  prisoner,  and  the  latter  was  soon  after 
given  up  to  the  republicans  by  treachery.  Soon  after  these  execu- 
tions most  of  the  insurrectionary  leaders  laid  down  their  arms  and 
sought  refuge  in  England.  In  1796,  again,  the  glory  of  hTance  was 
solely  supported  by  its  armies.  Carnot  had  formed  a  jilan  of  cam- 
paign in  accordance  with  which  the  armies  of  the  Rhine,  of  the 
Sambre  and  iMeuse,  and  of  Italy  might  march  upon  Vienna  in  con- 


298  FRANCE 

1796 

cert  and  afford  each  other  mutual  support.  The  first  two  were 
commanded  by  generals  who  were  ah'cady  celebrated — ]\Ioreau  and 
Jourdan;  the  third  was  intrusted  to  the  young  hero  of  Toulon  and 
defender  of  the  convention  in  October,  1795,  Napoleon  Bonaparte. 
He  arrived  at  his  headquarters  at  Nice  on  March  27,  and  sixteen 
days  after  gave  battle  to  the  iVustrians  at  Montenotte  and  defeated 
them.  This  victory  rendered  Bonaparte  master  of  the  pass  of 
Montenotte  and  of  the  crest  of  the  x\pennines.  He  now  had  in  front 
of  him  the  Austrians,  who  rallied  at  Diego  and  guarded  the  road  to 
Lombardy,  and  on  his  left  the  Piedmontese,  who  occupied  the 
formidable  gorges  of  Millesimo,  the  valley  of  the  Bormida,  and 
intercepted  the  road  to  Piedmont.  On  April  13  the  conflict  was  re- 
sumed. An  Austrian  division  was  dispersed  on  that  day  at  j\Iil- 
lesimo  by  Massena  and  Augereau  and  on  the  15th  Bonaparte 
in  person  completely  wiped  out  at  Diego  the  remnant  of  the  corps 
that  had  been  defeated  at  Alontenotte.  Bonaparte  now  hastened 
in  pursuit  of  the  Piedmontese,  and  was  again  victorious  at  Monclovi, 
April  22,  after  which  King  Victor  Amadeus,  in  fear  for  his  capital 
and  his  crown,  made  offers  of  peace,  and  Bonaparte  signed  an  armis- 
tice by  which  he  was  put  in  possession  of  Coni,  Tortona,  and  Alex- 
andria, w^th  the  immense  magazines  which  they  contained,  while 
he  preserved  his  communications  with  France. 

Bonaparte  followed  up  his  success.  He  deceived  Beaulieu,  the 
Austrian  general,  by  feigned  maneuvers,  crossed  the  Po  and  laid 
the  Duke  of  Parma  under  contribution.  He  then  marched  rapidly 
against  that  part  of  Beaulieu's  army  wdiich  occupied  Lodi,  on  the 
Adda,  and  forced  the  passage  of  the  bridge  of  Lodi,  under  a  per- 
fect storm  of  round  shot  and  musketry,  and  Beaulieu  retreated, 
leaving  behind  him  Cremona,  Milan,  Pavia,  Como,  and  Cassano, 
which  the  French  entered.  Bonaparte  immediately  seized  the  im- 
portant line  of  the  Adige,  aud  then  retraced  his  steps  to  receive 
the  sul)mission  of  Genoa  and  Modena.  The  court  of  Naples,  ruled 
by  Queen  Caroline,  the  sister  of  the  unfortunate  IMarie  iVntoinette, 
and  inspired  with  the  most  bitter  hatred  against  France,  had  com- 
menced formidable  preparations  for  war,  but  it  trembled  at  the 
news  of  Bonaparte's  victories,  and  resigned  itself  to  neutrality.  The 
Pope  himself  was  compelled  to  submit,  and  Bonaparte  levied  upon 
him,  as  a  contribution  of  peace,  twenty-one  million  francs  and  a 
large  number  of  the  most  famous  works  of  art  in  his  museums. 

At  the  same  time  that  Bonaparte  was  conducting  the  Italian 


THE     D  I  R  E  (TORY  299 

1796 

campaign  French  armies  were  contesting  witli  the  Austrians  tlie 
possessi(>n  of  southern  Germany.  .Ahjreaii,  who  had  crossed  the 
Rliine  at  Kehl  at  the  head  of  the  army  of  the  Rhine,  gave  battle 
to  the  Archdnke  Charles  at  Rastatt,  between  the  Rhine  and  the 
Black  Mountains,  and  defeated  him.  This  induced  the  archduke 
to  fall  back  hastily  upon  the  Danube  between  Ulm  and  Ratishon. 
allowing  AToreau  to  march  against  him  by  the  valley  of  the  Necker, 
and  Jourdan.  at  the  head  of  the  army  of  the  Sambre  and  Afeuse  by 
that  of  th.e  Main,  and  then,  towards  the  middle  of  the  year  1796.  the 
I-'rench  armies,  masters  of  Italy  and  of  half  of  Germany  as  far  as 
the  Danube,  threatened  to  invade  the  rest. 

The  old  Austrian  general,  \\*urmser,  now  entered  the  Tyrol 
with  70,000  men  and  prepared  to  force  the  lines  of  the  Adige, 
to  raise  the  blockade  of  Alantua,  and  to  crush  the  French  army 
of  Italy,  shut  up  in  a  narrow  space  between  the  Lake  of  Garda  on 
the  north,  the  Adige  on  the  east,  and  the  Po  on  tlie  south.  He 
sent  one  army  corps,  under  Ouasdanovitch,  to  operate  to  the  west 
of  the  Lake  of  Garda,  while  he  himself,  with  two  others,  advanced 
along  the  banks  of  the  Adige.  Bonaparte,  whose  beadcjuarters 
were  at  Castelnuovo,  at  the  southern  end  of  tlie  lake,  having  learned 
that  the  positions  of  Salo,  Corona,  and  Tivoli,  which  defend  its 
two  shores,  had  been  taken,  and  tliat  he  was  on  the  pcjint  of  being 
surrounded,  gave  up  the  siege  of  Alantua,  and  recalled  in  all  haste 
the  division  of  Serrurier,  which  was  employed  in  its  blockade.  It 
was  first  of  all  important  to  check  the  progress  of  Ouasdanovitch, 
who  was  on  the  point  of  entering  the  plain  to  the  west  of  the  lake, 
for  the  purpose  of  closing  against  the  French  the  road  to  Milan. 
Bonaparte  therefore  crossed  the  Mincio,  and  marched  with  the  bulk 
of  his  forces  to  Lonato,  where  the  iVustrian  columns  were  repulsed 
and  Salo  reoccupied  by  the  French.  Bonaparte  immediately  changed 
the  front  of  his  army  and  hastened  to  meet  W'urmser.  Each  of  the 
opposing  armies  rested,  one  wing  on  the  l^ake  of  Garda  and  another 
on  the  heights  of  Castiglione;  and  it  was  on  the  celebrated  ])lain3 
of  the  latter  name  that  was  ncnv  to  be  decided  the  fate  of  Italy, 
llie  action  commenced  at  daybreak  on  August  5.  Bonaparte  had 
ordered  the  division  of  Serrurier  to  make  a  detour  and  attack  the 
enemy  in  the  rear ;  and  as  soon  as  he  knew  by  the  sound  of  Ser- 
rurier's  cannon  that  he  had  accomplished  his  object,  he  launched  the 
divisions  of  Augereau  and  Alassena  against  the  Austrian  center. 
I'he  enemy,  caught  between  two  fires,  recoiled,  and  W'urmser,  ha\  ing 


300  FRANCE 

1796 

ordered  a  retreat,  reentered  the  Tyrol,  after  having  lost  twenty 
thousand  men,  and  Italy. 

Bonaparte  then  entered  the  mountains  of  the  Tyrol  in  pursuit 
of  the  Austrians,  but  Wurmser  had  received  reinforcements  and 
resumed  the  offensive.  The  two  armies  met  at  Roveredo,  and  Bona- 
parte was  again  victorious,  taking  the  whole  of  the  Austrian  artil- 
lery and  four  thousand  prisoners.  Wurmser  descended  the  valley 
of  the  Brenta  to  force  the  Adige  and  throw  himself  between  the 
French  army  in  the  Tyrol  and  ]\'Iantua,  which  had  been  again  block- 
aded. Bonaparte  followed  him  into  the  basin  of  the  Brenta,  attacked 
him  unexpectedly,  and  obtained  a  victory  at  Bassano  with  the  divi- 
sions of  Augereau  and  Massena.  Wurmser  then  crossed  the  Adige 
at  Legnano,  forced  the  lines  of  the  blockading  division  in  front  of 
Mantua,  and  shut  liimself  up  in  that  city  with  fifteen  thousand  men. 

Bonaparte,  relying  upon  the  popular  hatred  for  despotic  gov- 
ernments, imposed  a  republican  form  of  government  on  all  his 
conquests.  He  united  Modena  witli  the  territories  of  Reggio  and 
the  legations  of  Bologna  and  Ferrara,  and  formed  with  them  on 
the  south  of  the  Po  a  Cispadane  republic,  while  on  the  north  of  that 
river  he  made  of  Lombardy  a  Transpadane  republic.  These  tw^o 
republics  formed  in  the  following  year  but  one  republic,  under  the 
name  of  the  Cisalpine  republic.  All  Italy  trembled  before  the  van- 
quisher of  Austria.  Its  princes  scrupulously  observed  the  treaties 
which  they  had  made  with  the  French  republic,  and  at  the  conclusion 
of  the  last  campaign  the  court  of  Naples  tremblingly  signed  a  treaty 
Vk'hich  was  too  soon  to  be  broken  (October,  1796). 

Moreau  reached  the  banks  of  the  Daiuibe  at  the  beginning  of 
August,  and  Jourdan  followed  the  course  of  the  Naab,  one  of  its 
tributaries.  The  Archduke  Charles,  after  having  been  vanquished 
by  Moreau  at  Neresheim,  concentrated  all  his  forces  on  the  Danube 
and  resolved  to  prevent  the  junction  of  Jourdan  and  Moreau.  and 
to  defeat  them  one  after  the  other  with  superior  forces.  The  army 
of  the  Sambre  and  Meuse,  under  Jourdan,  being  the  feeblest,  the 
archduke  advanced  against  that.  Jourdan  halted  to  give  battle 
at  Wurzburg,  but  he  was  vanquished  and  driven  in  disorder  upon 
the  Rhine.  In  the  meantime  IMoreau  was  approaching  Alunich, 
when  he  heard  of  the  reverses  suffered  by  Jourdan.  The  archduke 
returned  against  liim  by  forced  marches,  and  the  army  of  the  Rhine, 
put  in  peril  in  its  turn,  had  to  fall  back.  Moreau  ordered  the  retreat 
and  reentered  France,  after  havincr  gained   in  the  Black   Moun- 


THE     DIRECTORY  301 

1796 

tains  the  battle  of  Biberach,  and  without  having  allowed  himself 
to  be  once  outmaneiivered. 

This  retreat  left  the  army  of  Italy  exposed  alone  to  the  attacks 
of  the  Austrians,  and  conse([uently  to  great  danger.  Davidovitch 
had  assembled  about  twenty  thousand  men  in  the  Tyrol,  and  Al- 
vinczy  was  advancing  with  forty  thousand  on  the  Piave  and  the 
Brenta.  To  resist  their  sixty  thousand  troojis  Bonajjarte  had  only 
thirty-eight  thousand,  of  which  twelve  thousand  were  in  the  Tyrol, 
under  Vaubois,  ten  thousand  on  the  Brenta  and  Adige,  under  Mas- 
sena  and  ^Vugereau,  and  the  rest  around  r^Iantua.  It  was  not  long 
before  the  Austrians  and  the  French  again  came  into  collision. 
Davidovitch  defeated  Vaubois  and  forced  him  to  fall  back  as  far 
as  Corona  and  Rivoli,  and  this  reverse  forced  Bonaparte,  although 
victorious  over  Alvinczy  on  the  Brenta,  to  retreat  to  Verona.  Al- 
vinczy  hastened  to  occupy  a  formidable  position  in  front  of  Caldiero, 
which  Bonaparte  endeavored  in  vain  to  carry  by  fighting  the  un- 
fortunate battle  of  Caldiero,  after  which  he  was  again  compelled 
to  retreat  to  Verona.  He  did  not  remain  long  in  this  city,  but  issu- 
ing forth  on  November  14,  by  the  southern  gate,  he  crossed  the 
Adige  at  Ronco,  some  leagues  to  the  south,  returned  to  the  south 
by  the  causeways  which  lead  from  Ronco  across  the  marshes  beyond 
the  Adige  to  the  positions  then  occu]:)ied  by  the  enemy,  and  was 
on  the  point  of  making  his  troops  defile  by  the  enemy's  rear,  when 
they  were  checked  at  the  bridge  of  Arcole,  on  the  Alpone,  by  some 
troops  that  were  posted  there.  The  enemy,  aroused  by  the  sound  of 
sharp  fighting,  hastened  up  from  Caldiero,  and  a  formidable  array 
of  artillery  defended  the  opposite  bank.  The  bridge  was  hotly  con- 
tested, and  it  was  not  until  the  village  on  tlic  opposite  bank  was 
taken  by  a  French  division  that  had  crossed  the  river  by  a  ford 
beknv  Arcole  that  its  passage  was  forced.  A  terrible  battle  now 
commenced,  which  lasted  three  days  and  resulted  in  the  complete 
defeat  of  Alvinczy.  Bonaparte  then  reentered  Verona  in  trium])h, 
and  immediately  marched  against  Ouasdanovitch,  who  had  taken 
the  positions  of  Corona  and  Rivoli,  and  had  driven  Vaubois  as  far 
as  Castelnuovo.  He  attacked  him  on  all  sides,  and  compelled  him 
to  retreat  in  disorder  into  the  gorges  of  the  Tyrol.  The  campaign, 
however,  was  not  yet  ended.  Austria  knew^  that  W'urmser  was 
without  resources  in  Mantua,  and  that  to  lose  this  citv  was  to 
give  up  Lombardy  to  France.  Emboldened  by  the  success  achieved 
by  Prince  Charles  against  the  armies  of  the   Rhine  and  Sambre 


302  FRANCE 

1796-1797 

and  Aleuse,  she  resolved  once  more  to  dispute  with  Bonaparte  the 
possession  of  Italy.  With  this  object  she  intrusted  another  army 
to  Alvinczy  and  urged  the  Pope  to  send  his  own  to  the  aid  of  Man- 
tua, with  Colli  for  its  general.  In  the  meantime,  however,  Bona- 
parte had  received  the  reinforcements  which  he  had  so  long  expected, 
and  had  about  forty-two  thousand  men  at  his  command.  He  first 
took  measures  for  holding  the  troops  of  the  Roman  states  in  check, 
and  then  prepared  to  meet  the  enemy  on  the  Adige.  Alvinczy,  with 
forty-five  thousand  troops,  was  descending  from  the  Tyrol  by  the 
route  which  runs  along  the  foot  of  Montebaldo,  which  separates 
the  Lake  of  Garda  from  the  Adige,  and  a  small  body  of  troops 
marched  along  the  opposite  shore.  The  famous  military  position 
of  Rivoli  was  the  only  one  at  which  the  enemy  could  be  held  in 
check  between  the  lake  and  the  river;  and  Bonaparte,  perceiving  the 
importance  of  this  position,  determined  to  await  the  zVustrians  there. 
Alvinczy's  troops  in  vain  made  assault  after  assault  upon  the  plateau 
on  which  the  French  were  posted,  and  after  two  days'  hard  and 
continuous  fighting  were  defeated  and  forced  to  take  refuge  in  the 
mountains.  Massena  immediately  hastened  towards  Provera,  who, 
with  another  army  of  twenty  thousand  Austrians,  had  crossed  the 
Adige  and  marched  to  the  relief  of  Alantua.  A  second  battle  took 
place  opposite  the  suburb  Favorite,  while  Serrurier  repulsed  a 
furious  attempt  made  by  Wurmser  to  force  his  lines,  and  drove  him 
back  into  Mantua.  Provera,  surrounded  by  Victor  and  ]\Iassena, 
surrendered  with  six  thousand  men.  These  battles  decided  the  fate 
of  Italy,  and  Wurmser,  reduced  to  extremities  in  Mantua,  gave  up 
the  city  and  his  sword  to  the  young  victor. 

In  the  meantime  the  Pope  had  sent  a  division  of  his  army  to 
Mantua.  Bonaparte  marched  against  it  and  defeated  it  near 
Imla,  at  Castel-Bolognese.  The  remainder  of  the  small  Pontifical 
army,  commanded  by  the  Austrian  General  Colli,  surrendered  before 
Ancona  on  the  approach  of  a  French  division  under  General  Vic- 
tor. Ancona  opened  its  gates  and  the  capital  and  its  arsenal  fell 
into  the  power  of  the  French.  Bonaparte  and  his  army  marched 
against  Rome  and  had  already  reached  Tolentino,  when  the  Pope 
offered  to  negotiate,  and  a  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  in  that  city 
between  the  Holy  Father  and  the  French  republic.  By  this  treaty 
the  Pope  surrendered  to  France  Avignon,  the  Comitat  Venaissin, 
and  the  territory  of  Bologna,  Ferrara,  and  Romagna.  He  also 
engaged  to  pay  a  fresh  war  contribution  of  fifteen  millions,  and  to 


T  HE     I)  I  II  K  C  T  O  11  Y  303 

1797 

abstain  from  entering  into  any  alliance  with  llic  enemies  of  tlie 
republic. 

Having  settled  the  affairs  of  Italy.  Bonaparte  1)cgan  his  march 
against  the  Austrian  capital,  having  the  archduke  in  front  of  him. 
Carinthia.  Styria.  and  Friuli  were  rapidly  subdued;  terror  reigned 
at  Vienna.  But  it  did  not  seem  wise  to  ])us]i  the  Austrians  too 
hard.  Bonaparte  made  overtures  to  tlie  archduke  and  an  armistice 
was  finally  signed  at  Leoben.  "According  to  its  secret  articles. 
Austria  was  to  cede  Milan  and  the  duchy  of  Modena  to  the  newly 
created  rei)ublic  of  Lombardy,  wliilc  Belgium  was  to  be  given  to 
]<"rance ;  Austria  was,  on  the  other  hand,  to  acquire  the  mainland 
of  Venice  as  far  as  the  Oglio;  besides  its  dciJendencies  on  the  eastern 
shore  of  the  Adriatic,  for  which  Venice  was  to  be  indemnified  by 
the  bestowal  of  the  three  former  Pa])al  dclegati(.ns,  Bologna.  I'crrara 
and  Romagna."  Xapoleon  thereupon  took  possession  of  Venice, 
having  fomented  trouble  in  the  republic  that  he  might  have  cause 
for  interference.  Fie  signed,  at  length,  with  Austria  (October  17, 
1797).  the  Peace  of  Campo-Fonni(\  In  accord;uice  with  this 
treaty  the  emperor  surrendered  to  France  Belgium  and  Mavcnce, 
and  consented  that  she  should  talce  the  Ionian  Islands.  It  also 
recognized  the  Cisalpine  republic.  France,  in  return,  gave  up  to 
Austria,  on  the  east  of  the  Adige,  Venice,  with  several  of  the 
Venetian  possessions,  Istria.  Dahuatia  and  the  mouths  of  the  Cat- 
taro.  Immediately  after  the  signature  of  the  peace  with  Austria 
a  congress  was  opened  at  Rastatt,  t(j  negoitiate  another  with  the 
German  empire. 

The  elections  of  1797,  of  the  year  V..  as  it  was  termed  in 
repul)lican  France,  were  made  for  the  most  ]iart  under  the  intluencc 
of  the  reactionary  party,  which  saw  with  terror  that  the  executi\-e 
power  was  in  the  hands  of  men  who  had  taken  part  in  the  excesses 
and  crimes  of  the  convention.  Bichegru  was  made  president  of  the 
council  of  five  hundred,  and  B)arbe-Marl)ois  president  of  the 
ancients.  Le  Tourneur  was  replaced  in  the  director\'  bv  Barthe- 
lemy,  who.  as  well  as  Carnot,  was  ojiposcil  to  \iolcnt  measures;  but 
they  only  formed  in  the  directorate  a  minority  which  was  power- 
less against  Barras,  Rewbel  and  La  Kevcillcre,  who  soon  entered 
ui)on  a  struggle  with  the  two  councils.  The  latter.  ami)ng  whom 
were  many  royalists  and  a  still  greater  number  of  moderate^,  as 
they  were  called,  had  \'oted  pardons  for  manv  classes  of  proscrilicd 
persons,  and  consented  to  the  reestablishment  of  freedom  of  wor- 


304  FRANCE 

1797 

ship  in  France.  These  and  other  measures  gave  offense  to  Barras 
and  his  two  supporters  in  the  directory,  and  they  pretended  to 
regard  these  two  parties  of  moderates  and  royahsts  as  one,  and 
falsely  represented  them  as  conspiring  in  common  for  the  over- 
throw of  the  republic  and  the  reestablishment  of  monarchy.  But 
there  was  a  more  important  point  in  which  the  councils  incurred 
the  displeasure  of  the  directory,  and  which  led  to  the  interference 
of  the  army  in  affairs  at  home.  The  councils  saw  with  anxiety 
their  generals  revolutionizing  Europe,  and  creating  abroad  a  state 
of  things  incompatible  with  the  spirit  of  the  old  monarchies,  which 
threatened  to  lead  to  a  perpetual  state  of  war  between  the  republic 
and  the  other  European  powers.  The  council  of  five  hundred 
energetically  demanded  that  the  legislative  power  should  have  a 
share  in  determining  questions  of  peace  and  war.  No  general  had 
exercised,  in  this  respect,  a  more  arbitrary  power  than  had  Bona- 
parte, who  took  offense  at  these  pretensions  on  the  part  of  the 
council  of  five  hundred  and  entreated  the  government  to  look  to 
the  army  for  support  against  the  councils  and  the  reactionary  press. 
He  even  sent  to  Paris,  as  a  support  to  the  policy  of  the  directors, 
General  Augereau,  to  whom  the  directory  gave  the  command  of 
the  military  division  of  Paris.  The  crisis  was  now  approaching. 
A  few  influential  members  of  the  two  councils  endeavored  to  obtain 
some  changes  in  the  ministry,  as  a  guarantee  that  the  directory 
would  pursue  a  line  of  conduct  more  in  conformity  with  the  wishes 
of  the  majority,  but  the  directory,  on  the  contrary,  summoned  to 
the  ministry  men  who  were  hostile  to  the  moderate  party,  and 
henceforth  a  coup  d'etat  appeared  inevitable. 

The  directors  now  marched  some  regiments  upon  the  capital, 
in  defiance  of  a  clause  of  the  constitution  which  prohibited  the 
presence  of  troops  within  a  distance  of  twelve  leagues  of  Paris. 
The  councils  Ijurst  forth  into  reproaches  and  threats  against  the 
directors,  to  which  the  latter  replied  by  fiery  addresses  to  the  armies 
and  to  the  councils  themselves.  It  was  in  vain  that  the  directors 
Carnot  and  Barthelemy  endeavored  to  quell  the  rising  storm;  their 
three  colleagues  refused  to  listen  to  them  and  fixed  September  6, 
1797.  for  the  execution  of  their  project.  During  the  night  pre- 
ceding that  day  Augereau  surrounded  the  Tuileries,  in  which  the 
councils  held  their  sittings,  with  twelve  thousand  troops  and  forty 
pieces  of  cannon.  He  arrested  with  his  own  hands  General 
Pichegru,  the  president  of  the  council  of  five  hundred,  and  other 


T  II  E     D  I  R  E  C  T  0  R  Y  .'505 

1797-1798 

iTier.ibers  of  the  council  were  driven  away  or  taken  prisoner.^  just 
as  they  were  on  tlieir  way  lu  the  Tuileries.  Tlie  (h" rectors  now 
[)ubhshecl  a  letter  written  by  Morcan.  which  rexealed  Pichegru's 
treason,  and  at  the  same  time  nDminaled  a  committee  for  the  ]nir- 
pose  of  watchini^^  over  the  jniblic  safety.  In  accordance  with  this 
law,  which  was  declared  to  be  one  of  |)ub]ic  necessity,  sixty-hve 
[jcrsons.  members  of  the  councils  and  of  the  directory,  were  con- 
demned to  be  transported  to  the  fal;il  district  of  Sinnamari.  The 
directors  also  had  the  laws  passed  in  faxor  of  the  priests  and  emi- 
grants reversed  and  annulled  the  elections  oi  forty  departments. 
Merlin  of  Douai  and  h^ranc^ois  of  Xcufchatcau  were  chosen  as  suc- 
cessors to  Carnot  and  Barthelemy,  who  had  been  banished  and 
proscribed  by  their  colleagues. 

This  revolution  preceded  by  a  few  days  only  the  Treaty  of 
Campo-Formio,  which  had  been  signed  by  Bonaparte  against  the 
wishes  of  the  directors.  The  latter  could  not  see  without  alarm  a 
young  general  raised  to  the  highest  rank  by  a  single  camjxiign 
arbitrarily  deciding-  (juestions  of  peace  and  war,  but  public  opinion 
exulted  in  his  triumphs,  and  the  directory,  as  they  did  not  dare  to 
disavow  him,  wished  to  appear  to  share  his  glory  by  bestowing 
upon  him  in  Paris  the  honors  which  no  general  had  hitherto 
received,  A  triumphal  fete  was  therefore  preparetl  for  the  ratifica- 
tion of  the  Treaty  of  Campo-l'^ormio.  This  imposing  ceremony  took 
place  in  the  palace  of  the  Luxembourg,  and  here  Xapoleon  Bona- 
parte, the  young  general  who  had  raised  the  glory  of  the  French 
arms  to  a  height  never  reached  before,  and  who  was  destined  to 
hold  such  a  prominent  position  in  the  history  ui  l-'rance.  first  stood 
face  to  face,  in  a  position  of  the  highest  honor,  with  the  people 
(jver  whom  he  was  sotrn  to  sway  the  im])erial  scepter. 

The  Treaty  of  Campo-Formio  and  tlie  C()i(f^  d'clat  of  September 
raised  for  a  short  time  the  power  of  the  dictators,  among  whom 
Treilhard  succeeded  Franc^ois  de  Xeufchateau.  to  a  great  height, 
but  its  strength,  which  was  more  apparent  than  real,  rested  entirely 
on  the  army,  and  this  situation  coni])ellc(l  tlie  directors  to  keep 
troops  in  the  field  and  continue  the  war.  It  was  determined  to 
invade  Egypt,  and  the  directors  intrusted  J5ona[)artc  with  the  com- 
mand of  the  expedition,  because  it  renioxed  from  J'aris  a  man  whom 
they  feared.  lie  set  forth  from  Toulon  with  a  fieet  of  four  hun- 
dred transports  carrying  40,000  tn^ops,  and  protected  bv  sixtv- 
seven  vessels  of  war,  and  a  portion  of  the  army  of  Italy.      The  lleet 


806  FRANCE 

1798 

set  sail  on  May  19,  1798,  niicler  the  command  of  Admiral  Brueys, 
and  first  of  all  took  possession  of  the  island  of  Malta,  which  then 
belonged  to  the  Order  of  the  Knights  of  St.  John. 

Prior  to  tliis,  however,  the  directory  had  exercised  an  unwar- 
rantable interference  in  the  affairs  of  Switzerland  and  Rome.  The 
government  was  in  a  condition  of  extreme  difficulty,  and  as  it 
could  provide  neither  for  the  support  of  the  army  nor  the  expenses 
of  the  state  by  legitimate  means,  it  had  recourse  to  those  which  were 
violent  and  illegal,  and  to  unjust  and  rapacious  proceedings  towards 
other  nations.  It  coveted  the  treasure  of  the  city  of  Berne,  valued 
at  from  eight  to  twenty  millions,  and  the  riches  existing  in  Rome 
and  all  the  resources,  whether  in  money  or  material  of  war,  pos- 
sessed by  Piedmont.  These  three  states  were  allies  of  France,  and 
the  directory  formed  a  pretext  for  laying  hands  upon  their  pos- 
sessions. It  had  long  since  aroused  the  revolutionary  spirit  in 
Switzerland,  and  in  January,  1798,  had  openly  offered  its  protec- 
tion to  the  democratic  party  in  Switzerland  against  the  aristocracy, 
which  only  exercised  authority  In  the  cantons  by  means  of  the 
magisterial  offices  In  its  possession.  By  its  intrigues  and  incen- 
diary proclamations  it  threw  the  country  Into  a  state  of  disorder, 
then  marched  troops  Into  It,  and,  under  pretense  of  freeing  Switzer- 
land from  every  kind  of  oppression,  seized  the  treasury  at  Berne 
and  crushed  the  Inhabitants  beneath  the  burden  of  forced  contri- 
butions. Several  portions  of  Switzerland  and  the  free  town  of 
Geneva  were  violently  annexed  to  the  French  republic.  Some  can- 
tons which  had  not  enjoyed  equal  rights  with  others  to  which  they 
were  in  a  measure  subject  were  declared  to  be  on  a  footing  of  com- 
plete equality  with  them.  An  assembly,  convoked  in  Aarau,  voted 
for  tlie  whole  of  Switzerland  a  constitution  modeled  after  that  of 
France  and  placed  the  executive  power  In  the  hands  of  a  Helvetian 
directory.  This  constitution  was  rejected  by  the  small  cantons  and 
threw  all  Switzerland  into  a  state  of  disturbance.  The  French 
army  was  directed  to  reestablish  order,  and  to  enforce  obedience 
to  the  new  constitution.  This  directory  at  the  same  time  brought 
about  a  revolution  in  the  Roman  states.  It  directed  Its  ambassador 
at  Rome  to  display,  contrary  to  usual  custom,  the  flag  of  the  repub- 
lic in  front  of  his  mansion.  This  provoked  a  popular  demonstra- 
tion against  the  ambassador,  and  the  French  General  Duphot  per- 
ished on  the  very  threshold  of  the  embassy  in  the  tumult  which  he 
was  endeavoring  to  quell.     For  this  the  directory  resolved  to  exact 


THE     DIRECTORY  r,OT 

1798 

vengeance  at  the  point  of  the  sword,  and  General  Berthicr  was 
ordered  to  march  upon  Rome.  A  French  corps  entered  the  city 
unresisted;  the  temporal  authority  of  tlie  Pope  was  declared  abol- 
ished and  replaced  by  a  republican  govemment :  the  public  treasury 
was  seized;  the  churches  and  convents  were  robbed  and  the  Pope, 
Pius  VI.,  was  made  prisoner.  He  was  dragged  into  exile  to 
\\alence,  where  be  died  (August  20,  1799),  imploring  pardnn  fur 
his  enemies  and  blessing  France,  from  which  he  had  suffered  so 
many  injuries. 

The  invasion  of  Switzerland  and  the  Roman  states  excited  the 
indignation  and  just  alarm  of  the  European  powers.  Tliey  again 
formed  an  alliance  against  France,  and  the  celebrated  English  min- 
ister, William  Pitt,  induced  Austria  and  Russia  to  become  members 
of  the  new  coalition.  The  attack  on  Egvpt  caused  the  Ottoman 
Porte  to  join  this  league,  and  the  court  of  Naples  did  so  also,  and 
declared  war  against  France  in  November,  1798. 

The  directors  immediately  marched  an  anny  into  Italy,  but 
before  invading  the  south  they  resolved  to  take  Piedmont  from 
Charles  Emmanuel  TV.,  the  son  and  successor  of  Victor  Amadeus 
ITT.,  who  had  faithfully  observed  tlie  treaties  concluded  by  his 
father  with  France.  The  directors  had  already  excited  in  the  city 
of  Genoa  a  revolutionary  movement,  and  the  Genoese  state  had 
become,  under  the  protection  of  France,  tlie  Ligurian  republic.  A 
similar  revolution  was  set  on  foot  in  Piedmont  by  French  agents, 
and  at  last  Charles  Emmanuel  was  compelled  to  abdicate  the  throne 
of  Piedmont  and  retire  with  his  family  to  tlie  island  of  Sardinia, 
the  last  remnant  of  his  possessions,  where  lie  protested  against  the 
shameful  violence  to  which  he  had  been  subjected  by  the  directory. 

A  French  armv  now  marched  upon  Naples  and  compelled  the 
king  to  retire  to  Sicily.  The  kingdom  of  Naples  became  the 
Parthenopean  republic,  and  the  whole  of  Italy  was  for  some  time 
in  the  power  of  the  French  armies. 

The  directorial  government,  although  victorious  abroad,  and 
possessed  apparently  of  arbitrary  power,  bad  in  reality  but  a  doubt- 
ful tenure  of  office  in  France.  The  violent  democrats,  by  the  elec- 
tions of  1797,  had.  it  is  true,  gained  the  ascendency  in  the  council 
of  the  five  hundred,  but  as  the  directors  had  defied  all  law  by  the 
coup  d'ciat  of  September  f>,  they  could  now  only  suppress  violence 
by  violence,  and  at  length  rtniscd  ])ul)1ic  opinion  against  them.  Theii' 
situation  became  more  and  more  [)erilous,  and  if  the  resources  ul 


308  FRANCE 

1798-1799 

the  government  appeared  immense,  the  obstacles  against  which  they 
had  to  struggle  were  still  greater.  They  had  to  govern  not  only 
France,  but  Holland,  which  had  expelled  the  stadtholder  and  become 
the  Batavian  republic,  Switzerland,  and  the  many  republics  into 
which  Italy  was  now  divided,  while  for  want  of  a  proper  organiza- 
tion they  could  obtain  neither  men  nor  money.  It  was,  neverthe- 
less, necessary  to  defend  these  various  kingdoms,  for  war  was  immi- 
nent. The  reestablishment  of  peace  indeed  was  impossible,  for 
Austria  and  England  were  more  terrified  at  the  revolutionary  doc- 
trines of  France  than  at  its  arms,  and  there  could  be  no  doubt  that 
the  Russian  and  Austrian  armies  would  speedily  march  against 
Holland,  Switzerland,  and  Italy.  The  directory  resolved  to  antici- 
pate them,  and  with  this  object  distributed  the  French  armies  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Rhine  to  the  gulf  of  Tarentum.  Ten  thousand 
men  defended  Holland  under  General  Brune  ;  the  army  of  the  Rhine 
was  confined  to  Bernadotte;  that  of  the  Danube,  consisting  of  forty 
thousand  men,  to  Jourdan;  Massena  occupied  Switzerland  with 
thirty  thousand  troops ;  Scherer  commanded  the  army  of  Italv, 
which  now  amounted  to  fifty  thousand  men,  and  Macdonald  was 
at  the  head  of  that  of  Naples,  It  was  on  the  Danube  and  the 
Adige  that  the  Austrians  were  about  to  make  their  principal  efforts, 
and  the  directory,  in  their  anxiety  to  anticipate  the  enemy,  ordered 
Jourdan  to  advance  as  far  as  the  sources  of  the  Danube,  and  Scherer 
to  cross  the  Adige  and  to  traverse  the  defiles  of  the  Tyrol.  The 
Archduke  Charles  defeated  Jourdan  at  Stockach,  in  Marcii,  1799, 
and  compelled  him  to  fall  bade  upon  the  Rhine  in  the  direction  of 
the  Black  Forest,  while  Scherer,  in  attempting  to  cross  the  Adige, 
was  vanquished  on  the  plains  of  Magnano,  and  after  having 
been  beaten  in  a  number  of  combats,  wliich  resulted  in  the  loss 
of  the  Adige,  the  ]\Iincio  and  the  Adda,  and  the  reduction  of 
his  army  to  twenty  thousand  men,  he  resigned  the  command  to 
Moreau. 

The  illustrious  general,  v;ho  was  in  disgrace  with  the  directors, 
and  who  had  been  made  a  simple  general  of  division  under  vScherer, 
never  displayed  more  talent,  coolness,  presence  of  mind,  and  force 
of  character  than  in  th.e  terrible  position  in  whidi  Scherer's  rash- 
ness had  placed  the  army.  Moreau  first  of  all  covered  Milan  and 
then  marched  to  cross  the  Po.  Maintaining  a  formidable  position 
at  every  halt,  he  concentrated  his  forces  below  Alexandria,  at  the 
confluence  of  the  To  and  the  Tanaro,  and  took  up  an  admirable 


THE     D  I  R  E  C  T  0  R  Y  309 

1799 

position!  at  tlie  foot  of  the  Genoese  mountains,  there  to  await  the 
arrival  of  iMacdonalcl  with  the  troops  under  his  command. 

Macdonald,  so  lon,^-  impatiently  expected,  at  length,  on  June 
i8,  1799,  met  Suvarov — who  had  come  to  the  aid  of  the  Aus- 
trians  with  sixty  thousand  men — in  the  valley  of  the  Treljhia  and 
unfortunately  gave  him  battle  before  he  had  completely  effected  his 
junction  with  Moreau.  ATacdonrdd  was  driven  back  beyond  the 
Apennines  upon  Nova.  Moreau  hastened  to  his  support,  but  could 
only  cover  his  retreat.  Italy,  as  well  as  Germanv,  was  now  lost  to 
the  French.  The  confederates,  commanded  by  the  Archduke 
Charles,  now  attempted  to  cross  the  barrier  of  Switzerland,  defended 
by  Massena.  while  the  Duke  of  York  landed  in  Holland  with  forty 
thousand  men. 

The  elections  of  April,  1799,  were  in  favor  of  the  democrats, 
while  at  the  same  time  Sieyes,  the  chief  opponent  of  the  directory, 
succeeded  Rewbel.  The  animosity  of  the  councils  to  the  directory 
caused  the  substitution  in  that  body  of  Gohier.  ex-minister  of  jus- 
tice. General  ]\rouHns,  and  Roger  Ducos  for  Treilhard,  ATerlin  of 
Douai  and  La  Reveillere.  Henceforth  Sieyes,  su]iporte(l  bv  Roger- 
Ducos,  the  council  of  ancients,  the  army  and  the  middle  classes, 
sought  to  destroy  what  remained  of  the  constitution  of  the  vear  HT. 
The  support  of  a  victorious  general  was  needed,  and  Bonaparte 
opportunely  presented  himself.  The  Kgvtian  cxpediti(in  had  been 
brilliant.  The  Mamelukes,  who  alone  made  an  intrepid  resistance, 
were  defeated  at  Chebreiss  and  at  the  foot  of  the  Pyramids.  Cairo 
opened  its  gates,  Rosetta  and  Damietta  submitted,  and  the  ATamc- 
lukes  retired  into  upper  Egypt.  In  the  meantime,  Admiral  Brucys 
having  imprudently  posted  the  French  navv  in  the  roadstead  of 
Aboukir,  the  English  Admiral  Nelson  bore  down  upon  it  and  almost 
entirely  destroyed  it  (July,  1798).  In  spite  of  this  great  disaster, 
Bonaparte  completed  the  subjugation  of  Egypt  and  then  entered 
upon  that  of  Syria,  in  the  hope  of  penetrating  as  Far  as  India  and 
striking  the  English  at  the  source  of  their  power.  His  army 
marched  upon  Gaza,  which  opened  its  gates.  Jaffa  and  Caifa  were 
carried,  and  Saint  Jean  d'Acrc  invested.  As  Bonaparte,  however, 
was  without  siege  artillery,  he  failed  to  take  this  town,  which  was 
defended  by  the  English  commodore.  Sir  Sidney  Smith.  Junot 
vanquished  the  Turks  at  Nazareth,  and  Bonaparte,  supported  by 
Kleber  and  Murat,  obtained  the  celebrated  victory  of  Mount  Tabor, 
after  which  he  raised  the  siege  of  Saint  Jean  d'Acre  and  returned  tu 


310  FRANCE 

1799 

Cairo,  where  he  learned,  through  the  journals,  the  unfortunate  posi- 
tion of  the  republic  and  the  change  in  the  directory. 

Anarchy  reigned  in  France;  the  royalists  of  the  west  and  the 
south  had  again  risen  against  the  directors.  Italy  was  lost,  Joubert 
had  been  killed,  and  the  French  defeated  in  the  bloody  battle  of 
Novi,  and  the  allies  were  marching  towards  the  French  frontiers 
through  Holland  and  Switzerland,  where  they  were  stopped  by 
Brune  and  Massena.  Bonaparte  having  learned  the  condition  of 
affairs  and  the  state  of  public  feeling,  resolved  to  return  to  France 
immediately.  He  was  preceded  thither  by  the  report  of  a  fresh  and 
brilliant  victory.  Eighteen  thousand  Turks  having  made  an  attack 
in  the  roadstead  of  Aboukir,  Bonaparte,  supported  by  Murat, 
Lannes,  and  Bessieres,  routed  and  annihilated  them.  Directly  after 
this  he  set  out,  leaving  Kleber  in  command  of  the  army  in  Egypt, 
traversed  the  Mediterranean  in  the  frigate  Muiron,  escaped  the 
English  fleet  as  by  a  miracle,  and  disembarked  in  the  gulf  of  Frejus 
on  October  9,  1799.  a  few  days  after  the  celebrated  victories  of 
Zurich  and  Berghem,  the  first  of  which  had  been  obtained  by 
Massena  over  the  Russians,  while  the  second  had  been  won  in  Hol- 
land by  General  Brune  over  the  Duke  of  York. 

An  alliance  was  soon  formed  between  Bonaparte  and  Sieyes, 
with  the  view  of  overthrowing  the  constitution.  The  former, 
having  obtained  the  military  command  of  the  division  of  Paris  by 
the  influence  of  Sieyes  and  his  supporters,  immediately  attacked  the 
directors  by  his  proclamations  and  word  of  mouth,  accusing  them  of 
having  destroyed  France  by  their  acts.  Sieyes  and  Roger-Ducos 
proceeded  to  the  Tuileries  on  November  8,  and  laid  down  their 
authority.  Their  three  colleagues  attempted  to  resist,  but  Barras, 
in  despair,  sent  in  his  resignation,  while  ^loulins  and  Gohier  were 
made  prisoners.  Now  there  commenced  a  struggle  between  Bona- 
parte and  the  council  of  five  hundred.  On  November  9  the  legisla- 
tive corps  proceeded  to  Saint  Cloud,  accompanied  by  a  strong  mili- 
tary force.  Bonaparte  presented  himself,  first  of  all,  to  the  council 
of  the  ancients,  and  tlien,  when  summoned  to  take  the  oatli  of 
allegiance  to  the  constitution,  declared  that  it  was  vicious,  that  the 
directory  was  incapable,  and  appealed  to  his  companions  in  arms. 
He  afterwards  proceeded  to  the  council  of  five  hundred,  who  sat  in 
the  Orangery,  where  the  excitement  was  already  at  its  heiglit.  His 
presence  there  created  a  furious  storm,  and  Lucien,  Bonaparte's 
brother,  who  presided  over  the  assembly,  attempted  to  defend  him ; 


THE     DIRECTORY  311 

1799 

but,  finding  liis  efforts  useless,  quitted  his  seat  of  office.  Bonaparte, 
after  appealing  to  the  troops  for  sui)port,  gave  orders  for  the  clear- 
ance of  the  hall  in  which  sat  the  council  of  five  hundred.  A  troop  ui 
grenadiers  entered  the  hall,  under  the  command  of  Murat,  and 
executed  the  order.  'i"he  grenadiers  advanced,  and  the  deputies 
escaped  from  before  them  by  the  windows,  to  the  cry  of  "  Long  live 
the  republic!  "  There  was  no  longer  any  free  representative  system 
in  I'^rance,  and  the  republic  existed  only  in  name. 

It  is  in  the  moral  state  of  the  country,  and  not,  as  some  have 
claimed,  in  the  indi\idual  fact  of  a  disagreement  between  the 
ancients  and  the  five  hundred  that  one  must  seek  the  cause  of  the 
ninth  of  November.  The  disunity  and  weakness  of  the  govern- 
ment of  the  directory  and  the  unity  of  the  army  were  in  great  con- 
trast to  one  another.  Able  men  guided  the  directory,  and  for  two 
years  it  maintained  order  throughout  h^rance ;  but  the  principles  of 
the  revolution,  the  party  rivalries  and  jealousies  which  grew  out 
from  the  revolution,  and  even  the  terms  of  tlie  constitution  itself, 
caused  discord  and  divisions  among  its  members,  and  as  a  conse- 
quence it  lost  the  confidence  and  respect  of  the  iM-ench  people.  The 
directors  rejjresented  the  government  of  the  old  convention,  and 
therefore  kept  the  spirit  of  the  revolution  longer  than  the  mem- 
bers of  the  legislative  councils,  who.  after  the  elections  of  1796 
and  1797,  became  the  representatives  of  the  new  national  feelings. 
It  was  inevitable  that  a  confiict  should  take  place  between  the  old 
and  the  new^  ideas.  The  Jacobins,  legally  at  the  head  of  the  gov- 
ernment, represented  old  France;  a  patriotic,  democratic  majority 
of  the  nation,  neither  royalist  n(~)r  Jacol)in  and  still  loyal  to  the 
principles  of  the  revolution,  but  o])poscd  to  the  form  it  was  taking, 
represented  new  hVance.  This  majorit)-  daily  becoming  more  dis- 
satisfied with  the  directory  and  its  methods  naturally  turned  toward 
Napoleon  Bonai)arte.  whose  Italian  victories  antl  Vv^Midrous  success 
in  concluding  the  Armistice  of  Leoben  had  attracted  their  atten- 
tion. The  Jacobins  won  their  last  victory  in  the  election  of  Sep- 
tember, 1797,  but  this  election  showctl  the  weakness  of  the  consti- 
tution and  reminded  France  of  the  hopelessness  of  a  government 
exposed  to  party  conflicts  and  personal  prejudices.  She  could  not 
but  compare  the  chaotic  and  aimless  government  at  Paris  with 
the  disciplined  and  orderly  organization  which  had  fought  in  Italy 
with  such  glorious  success.  To  this  was  added  indications  of  the 
inefficiency  and  unsound  judgment  of  the  directory  in  military  and 


312  FRANCE 

1799 

external  affairs.  Switzerland  and  the  German  states  of  the  Rhine 
were  antagonized  by  unwise  interpretations  of  natural  boun- 
daries ;  the  Second  Coalition  was  formed  against  France  by  Russia, 
Austria,  England,  Portugal,  Naples,  and  Turkey;  Italy  w^as  grad- 
ually being  lost ;  a  few^  forced  loans,  a  law  regarding  hostages,  and 
an  uprising  in  the  provinces,  all  these  prepared  the  way  for  the 
coup  d'etat  of  November  9.  Fearful  of  the  situation,  France  will- 
ingly yielded  herself  to  that  person  who  more  than  anyone  else  was 
able  to  cope  with  the  conditions.  Napoleon  was  the  personification 
of  successful  conquest,  of  unity,  and  order,  and  of  the  integrity 
and  the  prosperity  of  France.  Realizing  that  the  country  was  ex- 
hausted from  the  revolution,  he  was  able  to  overthrow  the  direc- 
tory. "  The  Revolution  has  ended,"  he  declared  in  his  proclama- 
tion of  December,  1799,  and  he  spoke  the  truth. 


PART  V 
THE  NAPOLEONIC   PERIOD.     1799-1814 


Chapter    XIX 

THE   CONSULATE.     1 799-1804 

THOSE  of  the  members  of  the  two  councils  who  had  been 
Bonaparte's  accomphces,  or  were  favorable  to  the  revolu- 
tion of  Brumaire,  hastened  to  establish  the  new  £^overn- 
ment.  Three  consuls  were  provisionally  appointed,  Sieves,  Roger- 
Ducos,  and  Bonaparte.  At  the  same  time  two  legislative  commit- 
tees were  selected  to  prepare  a  constitution.  In  this  new  constitu- 
tion the  authorities  intrusted  with  the  drawing  up  and  the  main- 
tenance of  the  laws  of  the  state  were  the  council  of  state,  the 
tribunate,  and  the  legislative  body.  The  council  of  state  drew  up 
the  laws.  The  tribunate,  consisting  of  a  hundred  members,  pub- 
licly discussed  the  laws  which  were  proposed,  and  voted  their  ac- 
ceptance or  rejection ;  and  in  this  latter  case  it  sent  three  of  its 
members  to  discuss  the  matter  with  three  members  of  the  council 
of  state  in  the  presence  of  the  legislative  body.  The  legislative  body, 
after  having  heard  this  discussion  in  silence,  voted  on  the  one  side  or 
the  other.  Finally,  the  senate,  consisting  of  eighty  members,  was 
empowered  to  annul  every  law  or  act  of  the  government  which 
might  appear  to  be  an  infringment  of  the  principles  of  the  con- 
stitution. 

At  the  head  of  the  executive  power  was  placed,  by  Bonaparte's 
desire,  three  consuls,  the  first  of  whom,  himself,  was  to  have  the 
initiative  in  and  the  supreme  direction  of  all  public  affairs. 

When  Bonaparte  had  been  proclaimed  chief  consul  he  selected 
as  second  and  third  consuls  Cambacercs,  formerly  a  member  of 
the  C(jn\-ention,  but  who  had  taken  part  neither  with  the  Girondists 
nor  the  Alountain,  and  Le  Brun.  formerly  a  C(Xidjutor  of  the  Chan- 
cellor Maupeou.  The  consuls  having  been  thus  appointed,  nomi- 
nated thirty-one  senators,  who  elected  sixty  more.  The  senate  then 
chose  a  hundred  tribunes  and  three  hundred  legislators.  Bonaparte 
appointed  the  tuembers  of  the  council  of  state.  The  constitution 
of  the  year  VIII.  was  submitted  for  the  approval  of  the  people, 
and  received  more  than  three  millions  of  votes  in  its  favor. 

Bonaparte,  in  compliance  with  the  general  wish  of  the  nation, 

315 


316  FRANCE 

1799-1800 

offered  to  make  peace  with  England,  but  that  power  refused  his 
offer.  England's  prime  minister  was  at  this  time  the  celebrated 
William  Pitt,  who,  infusing  all  the  energy  of  an  inflexible  will 
into  his  animosity  against  France,  skillfully  kept  alive  the  fear  and 
dislike  which  the  continental  monarchs  felt  for  the  First  Consul,  and 
finally  seduced  them  into  adherence  to  a  system  of  extermination 
against  France  by  the  payment  of  enormous  subsidies.  In  this  way 
he  long  retained  the  support  of  Russia  and  Austria,  but  the  former 
abandoned  England  in  the  campaign  of  1800,  and  towards  the 
end  of  the  same  year  the  Czar  made  himself  the  head  of  a  maritime 
alliance,  which  was  joined  by  Sweden,  Denmark,  and  Prussia. 
These  powers  acted  in  concert  with  France  and  the  United  States, 
and  renewed  the  celebrated  declaration  of  an  armed  neutrality, 
signed  in  1780,  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the  freedom  of  com- 
merce, and  freeing  the  ocean  from  the  tyranny  of  the  English. 
Austria  alone  persevered  on  the  Continent  in  the  struggle  against 
France,  and  English  gold  supported  her  armies. 

Bonaparte  threw  the  whole  military  strength  of  the  republic 
upon  the  Rhine  and  the  Alps.  Moreau  had  the  army  of  the  Rhine 
and  the  First  Consul  reserved  to  himself  the  army  of  Italy.  The 
former,  being  ordered  to  invade  the  defiles  of  the  Black  Forest, 
took  the  important  position  of  Stockach,  and  gained  several  victories 
in  succession,  which  led  Baron  Kray,  the  general  of  the  Austrian 
forces  in  Germany,  to  concentrate  his  troops  to  defend  the  line  of 
the  Danube,  thus  rendering  himself  unable  to  aid  the  Austrian  army 
under  Melas  in  Italy.  Upon  this  Bonaparte  proceeded  to  carry  the 
war  suddenly  upon  the  Po,  between  Milan,  Genoa,  and  Turin.  The 
passage  of  the  French  troops  and  artillery  was  effected  over  the 
crest  of  the  Alps  in  May,  1800,  and  the  army  speedily  found  itself 
at  the  foot  of  the  further  side  of  the  Saint-Bernard,  while  Melas, 
without  any  fear,  occupied  with  a  portion  of  his  forces  the  line  of 
the  Po.  Seventeen  thousand  Austrian  troops  were  on  the  Var,  in 
France,  and  General  Ott,  at  the  head  of  twenty-five  thousand  men, 
was  pressing  forward  the  siege  of  Genoa,  which  still  held  out,  in- 
trepidly defended  by  the  feeble  army  of  the  Maritime  Alps,  under 
Massena,  Soult,  and  Suchet,  The  pass  of  Susa  was  speedily  trav- 
ersed by  the  h'^rench  army,  and  Bonaparte,  after  crossing  the  Adda 
and  taking  a  part  of  his  troops  over  the  Po,  attacked  General  Ott 
at  Montebello  before  he  had  had  time  to  effect  his  junction  with 
Melas,  and  obtained  a  first  victory. 


THE     CONSULATE  317 

1800-1801 

On  June  13,  1800,  the  LYench  look  up  a  position  between 
the  Bormida  and  the  village  of  Marent^o,  whicii  they  rendered 
so  famous.  On  the  following  day  a  desperate  encounter  took  place 
in  which  the  Austrians  were  completely  defeated.  Melas  in  vain 
attempted  to  defend  IMarengo,  which  was  taken,  and  gave  its  name 
to  this  celebrated  victorv.  which  rendered  the  l-'rench  masters  of 
Italy.  In  a  state  of  consternation  he  asked  to  negotiate,  and  the 
convention  of  Alexandria  speedily  restored  to  I'Yance  all  that  had 
been  lost  within  the  preceding  fifteen  months,  wdth  the  e.\cei)tion 
of  Mantua. 

As  this  treaty  was  only  a  military  con\'ention  it  was  necessary 
that  the  army  of  the  Danube  should  force  Austria  to  ratify  it. 
Moreau  forced  the  passage  of  Lech,  took  Augsburg,  and  obtained 
another  victory  at  Neuburg.  The  Archduke  John  advanced  with  a 
hundred  and  twenty  thousand  men  to  meet  Moreau.  who  defeated 
him.  with  terrible  loss,  at  Ilohenlinden,  near  the  river  Iser. 

This  brilliant  victory  and  the  cai)ture  of  Salzburg  opened  to 
Moreau  the  road  to  Vienna.  The  victor  pursued  his  march  and 
obtained  a  fresh  victory  at  Schwanstadt.  The  lines  of  Inn,  the 
Salzach,  and  the  Danube  were  crossed.  The  fortress  of  Linz  was 
taken,  and  the  French  were  now  only  a  few  marches  distant  from 
Vienna.  In  this  extreme  peril  a  truce  was  demanded,  which  was 
only  obtained  on  condition  that  Austria  should  renounce  its  alliance 
with  England.  Peace  was  signed  at  Luneville  on  I'cbruary 
9,  1801,  between  France,  Austria,  and  the  empire,  and  by  this 
France  secured  possession  of  Belgium  and  the  Clerman  i)rovinccs 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine,  which  now  formed  the  boundary  line 
between  France  and  (Germany.  Separate  treaties  were  signed  by 
France  with  the  courts  of  Spain  and  Naples,  by  which  the  latter 
I)owers  engaged  to  close  their  ports  against  hjiglish  vessels.  Spain, 
moreover,  undertook  to  keep  off  such  vessels  from  the  coasts  of 
Portugal,  and  received  for  this  i)urpose  a  I'rcnch  army,  which  the 
first  consul  ])laced  under  the  orilcrs  of  tlie  S]ianish  government. 

England  now  found  itself  alone  in  arms  against  the  whole  of 
the  maritime  powers,  but  tlie  intluence  of  h^rance  in  Egyjit  had 
been  severely  shaken.  Richer,  considering  liimself  unable  to  main- 
tain hold  of  the  country  without  reinl'orcements,  which  were  witli- 
held.  concluded  tlie  Convention  of  I'd-Arisch  with  the  Sultan,  bv 
which  it  was  agreed  that  the  Frencli  sliould  evacuate  Egy])t  on  hon- 
orable terms.     The  l:Lnglish  fleet  at  tliis  time  was  blockading  the 


318  FRANCE 

1801 

ports  of  Egypt,  and  Admiral  Keith  wrote  to  Kleber  to  inform  him 
that  England  refused  to  recognize  the  Convention  of  El-Arisch 
and  that  it  would  consent  to  no  capitulation  unless  the  French 
troops  laid  down  their  -arms  and  surrendered  themselves  prisoners. 
Upon  this  Kleber  prepared  to  fight  and  defeated  the  Turks  at 
Heliopolis.  He  next  subdued  a  revolt  in  Cairo  excited  by  the 
Mamelukes,  and  would  have  maintained  Egypt  for  France  had 
he  not  been  assassinated  on  June  14,  the  day  of  the  battle  of 
Marengo.  He  was  succeeded  as  commander-in-chief  by  General 
Menou,  who  allowed  himself  to  be  surrounded  by  an  English 
army.  After  the  unfortunate  battle  of  Canopa,  Cairo  capitulated. 
Alexandria,  in  which  Menou  had  shut  himself  up,  speedily  shared 
the  same  fate  and  the  French  army  was  compelled  to  evacuate 
Egypt. 

England  had  taken  possession  of  the  Dutch  colonies  of  Sinna- 
mari,  Guiana,  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  Ceylon,  together  with 
the  French  colonies,  and  Malta  had  fallen  into  its  power.  Nelson 
had  attacked  Copenhagen  and  forced  the  Danes.  Paul  I.,  of  Rus- 
sia, the  most  powerful  supporter  of  the  maritime  league  of  the 
neutral  powers,  perished  by  assassination,  and  his  young  suc- 
cessor, Alexander,  adopted  a  different  policy.  The  league  was 
then  dissolved  by  the  force  of  circumstances,  and  England  re- 
mained sovereign  of  the  seas.  In  the  meantime  various  causes 
rendered  England  desirous  of  peace.  The  P^irst  Consul  had  col- 
lected at  Boulogne,  in  preparation  for  the  invasion  of  England, 
an  immense  flotilla  of  gunboats,  which  Nelson  had  attacked  with- 
out being  able  either  to  destroy  or  disperse,  and  a  French  army 
was  ready  to  cross  the  Channel.  This  and  other  circumstances 
rendered  peace  as  desirable  for  England  as  it  was  for  France. 
Pitt  was  replaced  in  the  cabinet  by  Addington.  England  offered 
to  treat,  and  the  First  Consul  accepted  the  offer.  The  prelimi- 
naries of  peace  were  signed  by  the  two  governments  in  September, 
1 801 ;  while  it  was  definitely  concluded  at  Amiens  on  March  25, 
1802.  Separate  treaties,  the  natural  consequences  of  the  Peace 
of  Amiens,  were  signed  by  France  with  Portugal,  Bavaria,  Rus- 
sia, the  Ottoman  -Porte,  Algiers  and  Tunis,  and  thus  the  world  was 
for  a  time  at  peace. 

The  First  Consul  had  striven  with  all  his  energy  to  suppress 
factions  at  home.  He  revoked  by  a  decree  of  amnesty  the  law 
which   prevented   a   hundred   and   fifty   thousand   emigrants    from 


Tin:     C'OXSUI.  ATE  310 

1801 

returning  to  France,  and  <^"ainc(l  o\-cr  many  royalist  leaders. 
Georges  Cadoudal  and  other  Vendean  leaders  capitulated  and  the 
war  in  the  west  was  brought  to  an  end.  Several  plots,  however, 
Avere  formed  against  Bonaparte  by  the  extreme  republicans  and 
royalists,  but  none  of  these  was  successful  and  all  persons  sus- 
pected of  participation  in  them  were  ]mnishe(l  in  a  most  arbi- 
trary manner.  Bonaparte  from  this  time  forth  displayed  on  many 
occasions  a  \iolent  and  despotic  character,  and  a  party  hostile  to 
his  government  was  formed  in  the  great  bodies  r>f  the  state.  wln"ch 
had  at  its  head,  in  the  senate.  Lanjuinais.  Gregnire.  Carat.  Cabanis, 
and.  in  the  tribunate.  Isnard,  Daunou,  Andrieux,  Chenier  and 
Benjamin   Constant. 

The  difficult  circumstances  in  the  midst  of  which  his  author- 
ity had  come  into  existence  rendered  it  almost  indi5pensa1)le  that 
the  dictatorship,  of  which  at  this  period  he  generally  made  a  salu- 
tary use,  should  remain  for  some  time  in  his  hands,  b'or  anarchy, 
"which  prevailed  in  every  direction,  he  substituted  order.  He 
established  regularity  in  the  civil  and  military  administration,  and 
the  civil  code  which  he  now  projected  A\as  a  monument  of  gem'us, 
and  became  a  model  of  legislation  for  Europe.  The  subjects  of 
j^ublic  instruction,  the  institute,  comnierce,  industry,  the  roads, 
the  ports  and  the  arsenals  also  attracted  the  notice  and  thought  ful- 
ness of  the  I'^irst  Consul.  \\'ith  the  assistance  of  Monge  and  P)er- 
thollet  he  gave  a  better  organizatii,^  to  the  polytechnic  school. 
which  had  l)een  established  during  the  government  of  the  c<>n\-en- 
tion.  Assisted  b}'  the  a1)le  minister  Gaud  in.  he  reestablished  (M'der 
in  the  finances,  and  being  ci)n\inccd  that  religicn  is  the  surest 
su])port  of  morality,  he  reestablished  jiublic  worship  in  h^rancc. 
and  signed  with  Pope  Pius  \'1I.  a  concordat,  by  which  the  Cath- 
olic religion  was  recognized  as  that  of  the  majority  of  the  P'rencli. 
lie  further  res(d\-e(l  to  bestow  a  reward  for  merit  in  what- 
ever rank  he  might  find  it.  .and  for  this  purpose  establisheil 
the  Order  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  of  which  he  declared  himself 
the  head. 

The  First  CcmisuI,  while  so  active  in  promoting  the  national 
interest,  neglected  ntithing  which  nn'ght  confirm  his  authority, 
and  after  having  obtained  for  his  consulate  ten  years'  ])rol(Miga- 
tion,  he  caused  himself  to  be  appointed  C(^nsul  for  lil'e,  and  ob- 
tained the  privilege  of  appointing  his  successor.  Two  days  later 
the  constitution  of  the  year  X.  was  decreed  by  a  sr>iali(s  Ci^iisid- 


320  FRANCE 

1801-1802 

twn.  To  the  senate  was  given  power  to  suspend  the  functions 
of  the  jury,  to  place  tlie  departments  beyond  the  pale  of  the  con- 
stitution, to  annul  the  decisions  of  the  tribunals  which  had 
been  instituted  in  tlie  departments  and  their  subdivisions,  and  to 
dissolve  the  legislative  corps  and  the  tribunate.  The  number  of 
the  tribunes  was  reduced  to  fifty,  and  Bonaparte  selected  for  him- 
self, in  addition  to  the  council  of  state,  a  privy  council,  small  in 
numbers,  whose  principal  duty  was  to  deliberate  on  affairs  which 
required  secrecy.  All  the  citizens  had  been  invited  to  give  their 
opinions  v/itli  respect  to  the  establishment  of  the  consulship  for 
life,  and  out  of  3,577,299  votes  on  the  registers,  only  8,000  were 
given  against  it. 

In  January,  1802,  the  First  Consul  convoked  at  Lyons  the 
deputies  of  the  Cisalpine  republic,  which  was  to  be  henceforward 
known  as  the  Italian  republic,  and  bestowed  a  new  constitution 
upon  it,  he  himself  becoming  its  president.  In  the  course  of  the 
same  year,  1802,  Bonaparte  compelled  the  Swiss  cantons  to  ac- 
cept the  celebrated  Act  of  Mediation,  which  enforced  equality  of 
rights  among  the  different  portions  of  the  Helvetian  territory. 
The  Act  of  Mediation  preserved  the  sovereignty  of  the  cantons, 
while  it  established  a  national  diet  for  the  purpose  of  superintend- 
ing the  general  interests  of  the  confederacy,  and  this  has  remained 
almost  the  same  to  the  present  day.  In  addition  to  this  he  also 
succeeded  in  inducing  the  German  diet,  assembled  at  Ratisbon  in 
1803,  to  regulate  the  indemnities  to  be  given  to  the  princes,  eccle- 
siastical and  secular,  who  had  been  deprived  of  their  domains  by 
the  arrangements  of  the  Peace  of  Amiens,  to  remodel  the  whole 
constitution  of  the  German  empire,  the  composition  of  the  diet, 
and  that  of  the  imperial  body  of  electors  in  a  manner  favorable 
to  France.  The  French  colony  of  Louisiana  in  North  America 
he  sold  to  the  United  States  for  eighty  millions  of  francs. 

In  the  meantime  England  had  observed  all  the  clauses  of  the 
treaty  with  one  exception.  The  island  of  ]\Ialta  was  not  yet 
evacuated,  and  this  fatal  delay  was  caused  by  the  omission  on  the 
part  of  the  French  government  to  obtain  the  guarantees  of  Russia 
and  Prussia  for  the  execution  of  the  Treaty  of  Amiens  as  agreed. 
To  all  the  causes  of  jealousy  and  irritation  which  the  First  Consul 
had  recently  given  to  England  by  his  almost  despotic  interference 
in  the  affairs  of  the  Continent  was  now  added  another  by  the  sud- 
den annexation  to  France  of  Piedmont  without  .any  compensation 


T  II  E     C  O  N  S  U  L  A  T  E  321 

1802-1804 

to  the  king,  Charles  Emmanuel,  the  ally  of  England.  So  arbi- 
trary an  act  raised  the  exasperation  of  the  Engiisli  people  to  its 
height,  and  the  outcries  of  the  public  press  and  of  the  members 
of  the  opposition  in  I'arliament.  who  were  led  by  Grenville  and 
Canning,  would  not  permit  the  English  government  to  evacuate 
Alalta  before  it  had  obtained  from  the  First  Consul  explanations 
with  respect  to  these  aggressive  acts,  and  of  his  encroachments 
in  Europe.  Bonaparte  replied  by  threats  and  inxectivcs  against 
England  and  demanding  the  expulsion  of  the  Bourbons  from  the 
country  and  the  immediate  evacuation  of  Malta.  The  English 
government  proposed  to  surrender  ]\Ialta  after  two  years,  in  ex- 
change for  another  small  island  in  the  Mediterranean.  But  Bon- 
aparte, impelled  by  his  pride,  or,  as  he  chose  to  phrase  it,  com- 
pelled for  the  honor  of  Erance  to  refuse  any  concession  whatever. 
chose  rather  for  the  sake  of  the  immediate  possession  of  a  rock 
in  the  Mediterranean,  to  tear  in  pieces  the  most  glorious  treaty 
which  Erance  had  ever  signed,  and  luirope  was  ])lunge(l  into  the 
horrors  of  an  endless  w'ar.  The  war  commenced  on  cither  side  by 
savage  acts  unworthy  of  civilized  nations.  1'he  E.nglish  fleet,  on 
the  one  hand,  fired  on  merchant  vessels  in  various  seas  before  hos- 
tilities had  been  openly  declared,  and  the  b^rench  consul,  on  the 
other  hand,  ordered,  as  a  reprisal,  the  arrest  of  all  the  Englisli 
traveling  on  the  Continent,  many  of  whoni  remained  prisoners 
until  the  close  of  this  long  and  frightful  war. 

At  the  same  time  a  dangerous  plot  was  formed  against  the 
life  of  the  b'irst  Consul,  and  for  the  restoration  of  the  Ijourl^ons. 
by  the  Chouan  and  royalist  chiefs.  Pichegru  and  Georges  Cadoudal 
were  at  their  head,  and  Moreau  was  their  confidant,  but  not  their 
accomplice.  The  conspiracy  was  discovered  in  l-'ebruary.  1S04, 
and  Moreau.  Picliegiu  and  Cadoudal  were  arrested.  This  e\ent 
was  folUjwed  by  a  scandak^us  ^•iolation  of  the  law  of  nations  iri 
the  seizure  of  the  Duke  of  Enghien.  the  last  of  the  j^rincely  race 
of  Conde,  at  Ettenlicim,  in  P)a(len.  and  his  murder,  for  it  was 
n(jthing  better,  in  the  moat  of  X'incenncs.  after  going  thriuigli 
the  mockery  of  a  trial  before  a  military  c(^mmission.  Idie  jire- 
text  for  this  act  was  that  tlie  duke  was  seeking  to  consjiire  against 
Bonaparte's  government  and  had  taken  ])art  in  a  meeting  ni  emi- 
grants on  the  Rhine  frontier.  All  P)ona]x-irte"s  glorv  has  not 
served   to  obliterate   the  remembrance   of   this   bloody  catastrophe. 

Paris,    Erance,    and    Europe    were   still    deeply   moved   by   so 


322  FRANCE 

1804 

gross  an  outrage,  when  the  trial  of  Pichegru  and  Moreau  com- 
menced. Pichegrii,  despairing  of  pardon  from  the  First  Consul 
or  disdaining  it,  strangled  himself  in  prison.  Moreau  was  con- 
demned to  two  years'  imprisonment,  which  Bonaparte  commuted 
to  exile  to  the  United  States.  Out  of  forty-seven  persons  tried, 
seventeen  were  condemned  to  death,  and  among  these  were 
Georges  Cadoudal,  Charles  of  Riviere,  and  Armand  of  Polignac. 
The  punishment  of  the  tw^o  latter  was  commuted ;  but  the  first 
died,  as  he  had  lived,  without  giving  a  sign  of  weakness. 

The  war  against  Great  Britain  and  Pichegru's  conspiracy 
assisted  Bonaparte  to  raise  himself  from  the  consulate  to  the 
imperial  crown;  but  first  of  all  he  added  to  the  powers  of  the 
senate,  which  had  already  been  so  greatly  extended.  This  body 
was  but  a  docile  instrument  in  his  hands,  and  when  he  had 
triumphed  over  all  resistance  in  France  he  caused  it  to  request 
him  to  govern  the  republic  under  the  name  of  Napoleon  Bona- 
parte, and  with  the  title  of  hereditary  emperor.  Accordingly  the 
empire  was  proclaimed  on  May  i8,  1804.  The  constitution  now 
underwent  fresh  modifications.  The  senate  was  constituted  guar- 
dian of  individual  liberty;  freedom  of  debate  was  restored  to 
the  legislative  corps;  the  powers  of  the  members  of  the  tribunate 
were  prolonged  from  five  to  ten  years,  but  this  latter  body  was 
divided  into  three  sections,  and  it  was  forbidden  to  debate  in  a 
general  assembly.  Finally,  a  high  imperial  court  was  created,  en- 
dowed with  most  of  the  judicial  attributes  which  were  subse- 
quently possessed  by  the  court  of  peers.  The  new  constitution 
recognized  the  emperor's  two  brothers,  Louis  and  Joseph,  as  cap- 
able of  being  his  successors,  and  they  were  nominated  respectively 
grand  elector  and  constable  of  the  empire.  The  posts  of  arch- 
chancellor  and  arch-treasurer  w^ere  given  to  Cambaceres  and  Le- 
l^run.  Beneath  these  and  -two  other  great  dignitaries,  the  arch- 
chancellor  of  state  and  the  grand-admiral,  were  fifty  grand  officers, 
partly  civil  and  partly  military,  at  the  head  of  whom  were  fourteen 
marshals  of  the  empire,  Berthier,  Murat,  Moncey,  Jourdan,  Mas- 
sena,  Augereau,  Bernadotte,  Soult,  Brune,  Lannes,  Mortier,  Ney, 
Davout,  and  Bessieres.  Napoleon  desired  that  his  reign  should  be 
sanctioned  as  well  by  the  clergy  as  the  people,  and  he  obtained  the 
apj^roval  of  each.  The  new  emperor  was  accepted  by  an  immense 
majority  of  the  French  people,  and  at  his  earnest  request  Pope  Pius 
VII.  went  to  Paris  to  bestow  upon  his  unheard-of  success  the  seal  of 


1804 


THE    consilatp: 


religions  consecration.  On  Dcccnil)cr  2.  1S04.  in  the  church  cf 
Notre  Dame,  Napoleon,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  Josephine,  the 
beautiful  widow  of  the  Marquis  of  Beauharnais,  and  surrounded 
by  the  great  bodies  of  the  state  and  the  great  dignitaries  of  the 
church,  was  consecrated  emperor  of  the  I'rench  by  the  sovereign 
Pontiff.  But  instead  of  receiving  the  crown  from  the  Pope's 
hands,  he  took  it  from  the  altar  himself  and  placed  it  on  his  own 
head. 


Chapter    XX 

THE    EMPIRE    OF    NAPOLEON    I.     1804-1811 

NAPOLEON  now  desired  to  add  to  the  title  of  emperor  of 
the  French  that  of  King  of  Italy,  and  the  representatives 
of  the  ItaHan  repubhc  decided  that  that  country  should  be 
made  a  separate  kingdom.  He  immediately  repaired  to  Milan,  and 
girding  his  brows  with  the  iron  crown  of  the  Lombard  kings, 
declared  that  he  only  temporarily  added  it  to  his  own,  and  appointed 
Eugene  de  Beauharnais,  his  stepson,  viceroy  of  Italy.  The  estab- 
lishment of  this  kingdom,  the  sudden  and  violent  annexation  of  the 
city  of  Genoa  and  the  principality  of  Lucca  to  the  empire,  the  im- 
mense exertions  of  the  English  government,  now  again  directed  by 
Pitt,  and  the  indignation  excited  in  Europe  by  the  death  of  the  Duke 
of  Enghien,  resulted  in  the  formation  of  a  third  coalition  against 
France  by  England,  Austria  and  Russia.  Bavaria  made  common 
cause  with  France,  Prussia  remained  neutral,  and  Spain  also  was 
unwilling  to  join  the  enemies  of  France.  England  declared  that 
Spain  had  broken  its  neutrality  by  affording  a  refuge  to  some  French 
vessels  blockaded  in  the  ports  of  Ferrol  and  Cadiz,  and  demanded 
their  expulsion.  Upon  its  refusing  to  do  so,  England  declared  war 
against  it  and  thus  drove  Spain  into  an  alliance  with  France.  Napo- 
leon at  this  time  once  more  contemplated  a  descent  upon  England, 
and  again  assembled  a  vast  force  with  this  object  at  Boulogne,  and 
an  immense  flotilla  of  light  boats  for  the  purpose  of  conveying  the 
army  of  invasion  across  the  Channel,  and  landing  it  on  the  opposite 
coast.  But  an  English  fleet  defended  the  passage,  and  several  of 
its  divisions  blockaded  the  French  squadrons  in  the  ports  of  Brest 
and  Ferrol.  A  second  English  fleet,  under  Nelson,  cruised  in  the 
rvlediterranean  and  watched  the  French  fleet  shut  up  in  the  port 
of  Toulon.  The  Toulon  fleet  was  ordered  to  sail  to  Martinique, 
and  there  await  the  arrival  of  the  Brest  fleet,  return  with  it  to 
Europe,  raise  the  blockade  of  Ferrol  and  the  coast  of  Spain,  and 
finally  return  to  the  Channel,  where  the  united  fleets,  consisting  of 
sixty  vessels,  would  be  superior  to  that  of  the  English.     Napoleon 

324 


T  II  E     E  M  P  I  R  E  325 

1805 

believed  that  this  plan  would  render  him  master  of  the  Channel  for 
four-and-twenty  hours,  which  would  be  suflkicnt  time  to  enable  him 
to  land  his  army  on  the  opposite  coast,  when  Enc^land  would  be 
already  confiucrcd.  In  accordance  with  this  plan,  Villeneuve,  who 
commanded  the  Toulon  fleet,  having-  escaped  Xelson  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean and  joined  Admiral  Gravina  and  the  Spanish  sfpiadron  in 
Cadiz,  proceeded  to  the  Antilles,  and  after  having  waited  in  vain  for 
the  Brest  fleet,  sailed  to  Europe  and  fought  a  glorious  battle  off 
r>rrol  with  the  English  fleet  commanded  by  Admiral  Calder,  after 
which  they  formed  a  junction  with  two  fresh  divisions,  the  one 
Erench  and  the  other  Spanish.  The  Brest  fleet  being  too  closely 
watched  by  the  English  fleet  to  Cjuit  the  port,  Villeneuve  was  ordered 
to  raise  the  blockade  of  Brest  and  release  the  fleet  there.  Failing 
the  success  of  this  maneuver,  he  was  ordered  to  sail,  witli  all  his 
forces,  into  the  Channel,  and  protect  Napoleon's  passage,  at  the  risk 
of  losing  half  the  fleet,  if  necessarv.  Villeneuve  could  not  under- 
stand that  these  orders  were  to  be  obeyed  at  any  hazard,  and  firmly 
believing  that  the  result  of  a  battle  was  much  more  likely  to  be  the 
destruction  of  the  French  navy  tlian  the  conquest  of  England,  he 
lost  all  confidence,  and,  instead  of  sailing  to  the  English  channel, 
he  made  for  Cadiz,  When  informed  of  this  fact,  tlie  anger  of  Napo- 
leon was  equal  to  his  grief,  and  it  burst  forth  against  Villeneuve  in 
the  most  vehement  and  terrible  expressions.  No  enterprise  had  ever 
been  planned  w'ith  greater  care,  and  none  more  completely  bafHed 
by  unforeseen  chances.^ 

It  now  became  necessary  for  Napoleon  to  march  against  the 
Russians  and  Austrians.  A  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  Austrians 
were  marching  in  three  corps,  under  the  archdukes  I'^crdinand.  John, 
and  Charles,  towards  the  Ivhine  and  the  .Adigc,  and  two  Russian 
armies  were  advancing  to  join  them.  Napoleon,  quitting  the  camp 
of  Boulogne,  hastened  to  meet  them,  and  within  twenty  days  the 
Frendi  army  passed  from  the  coast  of  the  Atlantic  to  the  banks  of 
the  Rhine.  He  crossed  that  river  in  October,  1805.  with  a  hun- 
dred and  sixty  thousand  men,  divided  into  six  cor]is.  and  atlvanccd 
by  the  AIjjs  and  Suabia  across  Germany.  The  Danube  was  crossed 
in  its  turn  and  Napoleon's  lieutenants  fought  a  series  of  glorious 

1  It  is  not  certain  tliat  Napoleon  ever  seriously  intended  to  invade  luiyland. 
The  camp  at  Boulogne  offered  a  good  excuse  fur  the  maintenance  of  a  large 
army  that  might  on  short  notice  be  turned  against  Austria.  See  J'ourmer, 
"  Napoleon  1./'  p.  -^83  I'L 


326  FRANCE 

1805 

conflicts.  Miirat  was  victorious  at  Wertin^en  and  at  Giinzbnrg, 
General  Dnpont  at  Hasslach,  and  Ney  at  Elcliingen,  while  the  Aus- 
trian army  under  Mack  was  driven  back  to  the  city  of  Ulm,  where 
Mack  capitulated  on  October  20.  The  Austrians  in  Lombardy, 
under  the  Archduke  Charles,  were  prevented  from  marching-  to  the 
assistance  of  Vienna  by  Massena,  who,  to  stop  them,  fought  the 
bloody  battle  of  Caldiero.  The  archduke  was  compelled  to  fall  back 
southwards,  and  Napoleon,  driving  the  Austrians  before  him, 
crossed  the  Danube  and  entered  Vienna.  The  Russians  now  entered 
Moravia,  where  they  rallied  the  ranks  of  the  Austrian  army.  Napo- 
leon encountered  them  in  the  environs  of  Brunn,  on  the  plain  of 
Austerlitz,  where  he  gained  a  decisive  victory  over  the  allies  on 
December  2,  1805.  Fifteen  thousand  Austrians  and  Russians  per- 
ished, twenty  thousand  were  taken  prisoners,  and  forty  flags,  with 
two  hundred  pieces  of  cannon,  were  the  trophies  of  this  memorable 
victory. 

Triumphant  on  the  Continent,  France  suffered  terrible  disasters 
at  sea.  Tier  fleet,  united  with  the  Spanish  fleet  under  the  command 
of  Admiral  Villeneuve,  after  having  been  beaten  at  Cape  Finisterre, 
lost,  on  October  21,  the  celebrated  battle  of  Trafalgar.  This 
great  victory,  which  cost  the  life  of  the  English  admiral,  secured  to 
England  the  sovereignty  of  the  seas.  The  victory  of  the  English 
at  Trafalgar  was  productive  of  the  most  serious  consequences  to 
the  court  of  Naples,  which  had  recently  bound  itself  by  treaty  to 
neutrality.  Hearing  that  Prussia  was  about  to  join  the  coalition, 
and  that  the  French  fleet  had  been  destroyed  at  Trafalgar,  it  con- 
cluded that  Napoleon  was  lost  and  received  into  the  kingdom  twelve 
thousand  English  and  six  thousand  Russians,  with  whom  were 
joined  forty  thousand  Neapolitans,  for  the  purpose  of  exciting  Italy 
to  revolt  in  the  rear  of  the  French  army  in  Austria.  This  caused 
the  fall  of  the  Bourbons  of  Naples,  who  were  overlooked  in  the 
negotiations  for  peace  after  the  battle  of  Austerlitz.  Napoleon 
granted  an  armistice  to  the  Austrians  and  Russians,  and  signed  with 
Prussia,  on  December  14.  1805,  at  Schonbrunn,  an  offensive  and 
defensive  alliance,  by  which  France  ceded  Hanover  to  Prussia  in 
exchange  for  the  duchy  of  Cleves,  the  principality  of  Neufchatel, 
and  the  marquisate  of  Anspach,  which  Napoleon  soon  exchanged 
with  Bavaria  for  the  duchy  of  Berg.  Ten  days  later,  December 
25,  Naprilcon  forced  on  the  Emperor  Joseph  the  hard  Treaty  of 
Presburg,   by   whicli    Vcnetia,    h^riuli,    Tstria   and    Dalmatia,    were 


T  H  E     E  .AI  P  I  R  E  327 

1805-1806 

transferred  fri^ii  Austria  to  the  kin.<4(luni  of  Italy,  and  Austria  also 
ceded  the  'rvrol  to  llavaria  and  received  in  exchanij^e  the  ecclesiastical 
principaHtv  of  W'urxburj;^.  The  two  electorates  of  Bavaria  and 
Wurtcniburj;-  were  raised  to  the  rank  of  kin<2:donis.  iMually.  Aus- 
tria had  to  pay  for  the  expenses  of  the  war,  a  contribution  of  fifty 
millions. 

On  returninfjf  to  Paris  Xapoleon  set  to  work  to  remove  the  last 
vestige  of  the  revolutionary  institutions.  The  republican  calendar 
was  replaced  by  the  Gregorian  calendar,  and  it  was  ordered  that 
on  August  15  the  fete  of  Xapoleon  should  be  celebrated  throughout 
the  em])ire.  Xajjoleon  further  declared  that  the  House  of  X^aples 
had  lost  its  crown  as  punishment  for  tlie  i)art  it  had  taken  in  the 
late  coalition,  and  transferred  the  Xeapolitan  scepter  to  his  brother 
Joseph.  lie  made  the  republic  of  the  United  Provinces  a  kingdom 
for  his  brother  Louis,  and  made  Prince  Murat,  his  brother-in-law, 
Grand  Duke  (jf  Cleves  and  Berg.  lie  endeavored  to  establish  the 
military  hierarchic  regime  of  feudal  times,  and  transformed  various 
provinces  and  principalities  int(j  grantl  Wets  of  the  empire,  which  he 
bestowed  as  rewards  ui)on  liis  ministers  and  most  illustrious  gen- 
erals. Two  vears  later  he  struck  the  final  blow  at  republican  institu- 
tions by  creating  a  new  hereditary  nobility,  in  which  those  who  were 
illustrious  of  old  took  rank  for  the  most  part  after  the  celebrities  of 
the  day. 

In  the  year  1806  negotiations  for  peace  were  commenced  be- 
tween I-'rance  and  Englan<l.  X'apoleon,  resohed  to  complete  the 
ruin  of  the  Bourbons,  who  still  reigned  in  Sicily,  deuKinded  that 
that  island  should  be  annexed  to  his  brother's  state,  and  to  induce 
England  not  to  oppose  this  fresh  conf|uest  he  offered  in  exchange 
th.e  restoration  of  I  hanover,  which  had  alreaiK-  been  ceded  to 
Prussia.  This,  however,  was  refused,  and  the  negotiations  were 
Ijroken  off.  In  the  meantime  X'a])oleon  comi)leted  the  organiza- 
tion of  his  military  empire  by  rendering  the  old  Germanic  con- 
federation dependent  on  him.  On  July  u,  1806.  fourteen  princes 
of  the  south  and  west  of  Germany  formed  the  CtMifederation 
of  the  Rhine,  ruid  recognized  Xapoleon  as  their  ])rotector.  Tliis 
confederation  enfeebled  Prussia  and  Austria  as  much  as  it  adilcd 
apparently  to  the  power  of  Xapoleon.  The  Kmpen)r  JM-ancis 
II.  was.  among  the  sovereigns  of  Germany,  the  t)ne  whose 
rights  were  mcjst  infringed  upon,  but  he  was  too  weak  to  make 
any  opposition.      He  abdicated  the  title  of  hjnperor  uf  Germany, 


328  FRANCE 

1806 

and  retained  only,  under  the  name  of  Francis  I.,  the  title  of  Em- 
peror of  Austria,  which  he  had  assumed  in  1804.  Thus  ended 
the  Germanic  empire,  after  it  had  existed  for  a  thousand  years. 
In  the  meantime  the  King  of  Prussia,  Frederick  William,  greatly 
irritated  against  Napoleon,  who,  after  having  guaranteed  him  the 
possession  of  Hanover,  had  offered  it  to  England,  had  resolved 
to  form  in  Germany  a  confederation  of  the  states  of  the  nortli, 
in  opposition  to  the  Confederation  of  the  Rhine,  and  he  demanded, 
as  a  first  condition  of  the  maintenance  of  peace,  the  retreat  oi 
all  the  French  troops  in  Germany  to  the  further  side  of  the  Rhine. 
Napoleon,  indignant  at  a  coalition  which  he  regarded  as  an  insult, 
would  not  allow  Saxony  and  the  Hanseatic  towns  to  join  the 
northern  league,  and  rejected  the  Prussian  ultimatum,  upon  which 
Frederick  William  determined  upon  war,  and  invaded  Saxony. 
Russia,  Sweden,  and  England  immediately  formed  w'ith  Prussia 
the  fourth  coalition  against  France. 

Napeolon  lost  no  time  in  marching  to  meet  the  Prussian  army, 
and  maneuvered  with  extreme  celerity  so  as  to  surround  the  enemy, 
cut  off  his  communications,  and  close  against  him  his  line  of  retreat. 
The  enemy  was  successively  driven  hack  to  Schleitz  and  to  Saalfeld. 
A  few  days  afterwards  the  French  army,  as  it  was  preparing  to 
cross  the  Saale  at  three  points,  encountered  at  Jena  a  great  portion 
of  the  Prussian  army  under  Prince  Hohenlohe.  Napoleon  ordered 
the  attack  and  a  general  engagement  ensued.  His  victory  was  as 
complete  as  it  was  rapid;  the  Prussians  lost  in  a  few  hours  twelve 
thousand  men  killed  or  wounded,  fifteen  thousand  prisoners,  a  multi- 
tude of  flags,  and  two  hundred  pieces  of  cannon.  On  the  same  day, 
f(jur  hours  later.  Marshal  Davout  totally  defeated  the  Prussians 
under  the  old  Duke  of  Brunswick  at  Auerstadt.  These  two  great 
hattles  decided  the  campaign. 

Nothing  now  prevented  Napoleon  from  marching  to  Berlin. 
He  occupied  in  succession  Leipzig,  Wittenberg,  and  Dessau ;  crossed 
the  Elbe  at  three  points,  and  on  October  28,  1806,  entered 
]^>erlin  in  triumph.  The  line  of  the  Oder  was  promptly  occupied. 
Murat,  Soult,  Lannes,  and  Bernadotte  completed  the  conquest  of 
western  and  southern  Prussia  as  far  as  the  shores  of  the  Baltic. 
The  unfortunate  Frederick  William  retreated  to  Konigsberg,  wliere 
he  concentrated  his  last  reserves,  and  within  a  month  the  despotic 
and  military  monarchy  of  Frederick  the  Great  appeared  to  have 
been  almost  annihilated. 


T  II  K     E  M  P  I  R  E  329 

1306 

Na[)olc(i!i,  cvcrvwlicrc  \  ictorious,  now  used  the  ri.i;lils  con- 
ferred iip'iii  him  hy  \ictory  and  disposed  of  crowns  In'  his  decrees. 
The  Elector  of  Jlesse  was  dei)rived  of  his  states  for  having;-  refused 
to  take  part  with  France,  while  the  electorate  of  Saxony,  whose 
prince  had  taken  part  with  Prussia,  against  his  will  and  even  with 
regret,  was  added  to  the  Confederation  of  the  Rhine,  and  raised  to 
the  rank  of  a  kingdom.  Xapoleon's  next  care  was  to  attempt  t<3  pun- 
ish England  for  having  joinetl  the  coalition,  and  on  Xovember  26, 
1806,  there  appeared  at  Berlin  the  famous  decree  for  the  closing  of 
the  ports  of  the  Continent  to  the  English.  This  decree  declared  the 
British  Isles  themselves  in  a  state  of  blockade;  interdicted  any 
commerce  or  communicati(^n  with  them :  and  ordered  the  seizure 
of  all  English  persons  and  English  merchandise  which  should  be 
found  on  the  territories  of  b^rance.  or  on  those  of  her  allies. 
Every  nation  which  did  not  submit  to  the  system  set  ft^rth  in 
this  decree  was  declared  by  it  to  l)e  an  enemy  of  Erance.  This 
blow'  at  British  commerce,  which  nc\ertheless  injured  all  the 
nations  to  whom  commerce  witli  the  United  Kingdom  was  a  vital 
necessity,  doubtless  inflicted  immense  loss  upon  b'.ngland.  but  it 
did  not  place  that  power  at  her  rixal's  discretion,  as  Xaj)(ilcon  had 
hoped,  but  led  her.  on  the  contrary,  to  adopt  a  series  of  measures 
which  precipitated  his  fall. 

Frederick  William,  although  vanquished  and  almf>st  entirely 
dispossessed,  had  not  lost  all  hope,  lie  had  collected,  between 
Thorn  and  Kcniigsberg',  luider  General  Eestocq,  about  thirtv 
thousand  men.  his  last  resource,  rmd  Russian  troops  under  old 
Ceneral  Kraminski  adxanced  to  his  aid  across  Poland.  Dividetl 
into  two  corps  under  Generals  l^Miningsen  and  Buntofden.  tliev 
api)r()ached  the  \'islula,  and  would  have  atlackcd  tlie  I-'rencli  in 
concert  with  the  Prussi.ans  if  tliey  had  not  been  ])re\ented  by  their 
raj)id  mo\ements.  \'iclorious  on  the  helds  of  jena  and  Aucrstadt, 
Napoleon  had  resol\-ed  to  marcli  to  fight  the  Russians  on  the 
plains  of  Poland,  and  two  hreiuli  armies,  each  consisting  of  about 
eighty  thousand  men,  and  di\i(Ied  iiUo  nine  coi-ps,  marched  U[)on 
the  Vistula  at  the  conunenremciU  (^\  X(»\'ember. 

Se\-eral  indecisixe  contlicts.  in  which  t!ie  I'rencli  generally 
had  the  a(l\antage,  took  place  at  tl;e  commencement  of  this  cam- 
j)aign  and  on  l)ecember  ()  tlie  P'roncli  obtained  a  decisi\e  \  ic-!or\- 
at  Pultusk.  whei\'  Marshal  1  .annes  \-anquished  and  repulsed  Iku- 
ningsen's  division.     The  inclemency  of  the  season  and  snow  com- 


330  FRANCE 

1806-1807 

pelled  Napoleon  to  halt  in  Poland,  where  lie  passed  the  winter, 
posting  his  various  corps  in  front  of  the  Vistula,  from  Elbing, 
near  the  Baltic,  up  to  Warsaw,  and  sending  Marshal  Lefevre  to 
invest  Dantzic. 

The  Russian  general,  Benningsen,  however,  ventured  to 
carry  on  the  campaign  during  the  winter,  and  endeavored  to 
surprise  the  French  army  in  its  cantonments  by  turning  its  posi- 
tions on  the  shore  of  the  Baltic,  and  crossing  the  Vistula  with  the 
Prussian  corps  of  General  Lestocq,  between  Thorn  and  ■\Iarien- 
burg.  But  his  plan  was  divined  and  frustrated.  Then  Benningsen 
concentrated  his  forces  at  the  strong  position  of  Jonkorvo,  on  the 
Alle,  wdiile  Napoleon  broke  up  his  camps  and  marched  to  attack 
him.  But  Benningsen  fell  back  before  the  French,  who  descended 
the  course  of  the  Alle  in  pursuit  of  him,  and  ultimately  halted 
beyond  Eylau  and  took  up  a  positicni,  resolved  to  give  battle  as 
soon  as  General  Lestocq  and  the  Prussians  should  arrive.  There 
he  was  attacked  by  Napoleon  just  before  the  Prussians  could 
effect  a  junction  with  him,  on  h>bruary  7,  1807.  A  desperate 
encounter  ensued,  in  wdiich  Benningsen  was  defeated  with 
immense  losses,  and  compelled  to  retreat  on  the  following  day. 

Napoleon  pursued  the  Russians  as  far  as  Konigsberg,  and 
beyond  the  Pregel,  after  which  he  returned  to  take  up  his  winter 
quarters  beyond  the  lower  Vistula,  between  Elbing  and  Thorn, 
in  order  to  cover  the  siege  of  Dantzic,  which,  in  spite  of  all  the 
efforts  made  by  Benningsen  to  relieve  it,  surrendered  ]\Iay  24,  1807. 

Turkey  was  at  this  time  the  scene  of  serious  events.  The 
French  ambassador  at  Constantinople,  General  Sebastiani,  was 
making  great  efforts  to  induce  the  Sultan  Selim  to  ally  himself 
with  France,  when  forty  thousand  Russians  suddenly  crossed  the 
Dniester  under  pretense  of  securing  the  execution  of  treaties. 
This  sudden  invasion  of'  Turkey  had  been  concerted  with  the 
] 'English  government,  who  proposed  to  send  its  own  fleet  through 
the  strait  of  the  Dardanelles ;  and  when  the  Sultan  ordered  the 
Russian  envoy  to  leave  Constantinople,  the  English  ambassador 
threatened  to  have  the  city  bombarded  by  the  English  fleet  if  the 
Sultan  did  not  immediately  ally  himself  with  England  and 
Russia  against  France.  The  Sultan  hesitated  to  incur  the  threat- 
ened peril,  but  Sebastiani  revived  his  courage  and  armed  Con- 
stantinojjle  with  formidable  batteries;  so  that  when,  in  Alarch, 
1807,   the   English   fleet   appeared  before  the   city,   a  terrible  fire 


T  II  E     E  M  P  I  R  E  331 

1807 

compelled  it  to  repass  the  Dardanelles  coiisidciably  dama^ievl. 
France.  ne\ertheless,  derived  but  little  ad\anta!;e  from  this  suc- 
cess, for  a  revolt  of  the  janissaries  soon  afterwards  took  place 
at  Constantinople,   and   Selim   was  deposed. 

The  war  continued  in  I\)land  and  eastern  Prussia,  where  the 
Russians,  under  Ijenningsen  and  luii^ration.  reopened  the  cam- 
paign in  the  s])ring.  and  Xapoleon,  after  the  fall  of  Dantzic.  re- 
sumed the  otYensi\-e.  lie  marched  upon  Konigsberg.  and  de- 
feated the  enemy  in  the  battles  of  Gudstadt.  Spanden.  and 
Ueilsbr.rg'.  llenningsen  ha\ing  retreated  for  the  pur]:)ose  of 
co\ering'  Konigsberg.  Xapoleon  folhnved  him.  and  on  June  14 
encountered  the  Russians  before  I'ricdland.  Again  they  were  de- 
feated with  great  loss,  and  l-'ricdland  was  taken  and  burned. 
Konigsberg.  after  tliis  ijloody  battle,  opened  its  gates,  and  there 
remained  nothing  more  of  the  I'russian  monarch  v. 

Napoleon  now  marched  towards  the  Xiemen  in  pursuit  of 
the  Russians,  and  on  June  19  came  up  with  them  on  the  banks 
of  that  river,  which  flowed  between  the  two  armies.  But  there 
his  victorious  march  came  to  a  halt;  for  Alexander,  vancjuished. 
asked  for  peace,  and  expressed  a  desire  to  see  his  concpieror.  A 
raft  was  constructed  near  Tilsit,  on  the  X'iemen.  for  the  solemn 
interview  between  the  czar  and  the  emperor.  ;md  this  interview 
took  place  in  the  sight  of  the  two  armies  assembled  on  the  river's 
banks.  Peace  was  at  length  concluded  at  Tilsit  by  treaties  signed 
by  I'^rance,  Russia,  and  Prussia.  'I'he  princ!])al  clauses  of  this 
treaty  were:  the  restoration  to  Prussia  of  old  Prussia,  Pomerania, 
Brandenburg  and  Silesia;  tlie  cessinn  to  1^'rance  f)f  all  the  prov- 
inces on  the  left  of  the  I'dbe.  for  the  i)urpose  of  incorporating 
them  with  the  grand  duchy  f)f  Ilesse,  and  making  of  the  whole 
a  kingdom  of  W'estphali.a ;  the  conxersion  of  I'osen  and  Warsaw^ 
into  a  Polish  state,  which,  under  the  title  of  the  grand  duchv  of 
Warsaw,  should  be  given  to  the  King  of  Saxony,  and  sliould  form 
part  of  the  Confederation  of  the  Rhine;  the  recognition  of  this 
confetleration  by  Russia  and  I'russia  and  the  recognition  of  X'a- 
poleon's  brotliers.  Louis.  Joseph  and  Jerome,  as  the  kings  of 
Holland,  Naples  and  Westphalia.  Finally,  it  was  agreed,  in  a 
secret  clause,  to  call  u])on  the  Furojiean  ])owers  to  adhere  to  the 
continental  blockade,  and  to  close  their  i)orts  again>t  bjigland, 
and  declare  war  against  it. 

l''n"iand  was  much   dismaved   when   sh.e   found    Kussia   with- 


332  FRANCE 

1807-1808 

drawn  from  her  influence.  Wishing  to  retain  at  any  price  a  foot- 
ing- in  the  Baltic,  she  demanded  that  Denmark  should  form  with 
her  an  alliance  offensive  and  defensive,  and  that,  as  a  guarantee 
of  good  faith,  she  should  surrender  her  fleet  and  her  capital  into 
her  hands.  The  king  refused,  and  on  September  2,  1807,  Copen- 
hagen was  subjected  to  a  frightful  bombardment,  and  the  Danish 
fleet  fell  into  hands  of  the  English.  Denmark  avenged  herself 
for  this  act  by  immediately  adhering  to  the  continental  blockade. 
At  the  end  of  1807  Portugal  was  the  only  continental  state 
which  remained  under  the  direct  influence  of  Great  Britain,  and 
Napoleon  signed  on  October  27,  1807,  at  Fontainebleau,  a  treaty 
with  Spain,  by  which  Portugal,  as  a  punishment  for  her  alliance 
with  England,  was  to  be  divided  almost  entirely  between  the 
Queen  of  Etruria  and  Godoy,  who  governed  the  Spanish  mon- 
archy. This  treaty  declared  Charles  IV.,  King  of  Spain, 
suzerain  of  the  two  states  thus  to  be  formed  out  of  Portugal. 
The  Moniteur  announced  on  November  15,  1807,  that  the  House 
of  Braganza  had  ceased  to  reign.  A  body  of  French  troops, 
under  the  orders  of  Junot,  were  sent  to  Lisbon,  charged  with  the 
execution  of  this  sentence,  and  before  their  arrival  the  Prince 
Regent  of  Portugal  embarked  for  Brazil,  abandoning  to  the  in- 
vading army  his  capital  and  fleet.  This  rapid  success,  and  the 
scandalous  divisions  in  the  Spanish  royal  family,  inflamed  Na- 
poleon's ambition,  and  he  accustomed  himself  to  look  upon  the 
Peninsula  as  his  conquest.  The  weak  Charles  IV.,  who  was  en- 
tirely under  the  influence  of  Godoy,  the  queen's  favorite,  had 
rendered  himself  contemptible  in  the  eyes  of  all  his  subjects, 
while  his  son,  Ferdinand,  Prince  of  the  Asturias,  had  become  their 
idol  by  declaring  himself  the  opponent  of  the  odious  favorite.  In 
1808  Napoleon  sent  an  army  into  Spain.  Charles  IV.  and  the 
queen  were  struck  with  consternation.  Godoy  advised  them  to 
retire  to  the  southern  provinces,  but  I-'erdinand  opposed  the  exe- 
cution of  this  project,  and  having  called  on  the  people  and  the 
troops  to  support  him,  arrested  Godoy,  made  his  father  prisoner, 
and  forced  him  to  abdicate,  and  then  made  a  triumphal  entry 
into  Madrid  as  King  of  Spain.  Murat  had  preceded  him  with 
his  army.  Charles  IV.  protested  against  his  forced  abdication, 
and  Murat  refused  to  recognize  Ferdinand  as  king.  Napoleon 
then  invited  the  king  and  his  son  to  meet  him  at  Bayonne,  os- 
tensibly   to    tlecicle    upon   their  differences,  but  having  g(jt  them 


1808 

into  his  power,  he  clctaiiicd  l-'crdinand  as  a  ])risoncr,  and  sent  the 
king  to  C(>ni[)icgne,  after  inducing  him  to  resign  ihc  crown  in  his 
favor.  In  the  meantime  ^lurat  kept  possession  of  Mach-id.  and 
the  council  of  Castile,  under  the  pressure  of  French  intluence, 
requested  that  Joseph,  Napoleon's  eldest  l)rother.  become  King 
of  Spain.  An  assembly  of  Spanisli  notables  was  immediately 
con\oked  at  Bayonne.  where  the  emperor  organized  a  junta  to 
carry  on  a  provisional  government.  Joseph  gave  u|)  to  Murat  the 
crown  of  Xaples,  and  immediately  ([uitting  that  capital,  reached 
IJayonne  on  June  7,  when  he  was  declared  King  oi  Spain. 
The  assembly  at  Bayonne  voted  a  constitution,  which  Joseph 
swore  to  observe,  and  on  July  9  he  was  on  his  way  to  Spain.  lUit 
already  tlie  Si)aniards,  indignant  and  furious,  had  risen  in  arms. 
A  provisional  go\ernment  assembled  at  Seville  annulled  all  the 
acts  of  the  junta  at  Bayonne.  The  Sjianiards  signalized  their 
vengeance  in  Cadiz  and  other  places  by  massacres  and  atrocities, 
declaring  war  to  the  death  against  the  h^rench,  and  the  Portu- 
guese following  their  example.  In  the  meantime  Bessieres  was 
victorious  at  Medina  de  Rio-Secco,  and  his  \ictory  o])ened  the 
gates  of  Madrid  to  King  Joseph,  who  made  his  entrance  into  that 
capital  on  July  20.  But  immediately  afterwards  General  Dupont 
made  a  disgraceful  capitulation  at  Baylen  and  surrendered  with 
twenty-six  thousand  troops.  This  terrible  check  shook  the  i)owei' 
of  the  French  in  the  Peninsula,  and  reanimated  the  Spaniards,  the 
result  being  that  Joseph  had  to  quit  Madrid  eight  days  after  he 
had  entered  it  in  solemn  state. 

Portugal  als(j  rose,  and  an  English  army  disembarked  there 
under  the  orders  of  Sir  Arthur  W'cllesley.  afterwards  Lord 
Wellington.  Junot,  with  ten  thousand  men  only,  ventured  to 
fight  the  battle  of  \'imiera  against  twenty-six  thousand  iMiglish 
antl  Portuguese.  lie  was  soon  van(]uished,  and  soon  after  signed 
the  Capitulation  oi  Cintra,  wliich  at  least  allowed  him  to  retreat  In 
France  with  honor.  Portugal  was  now  evacuated  by  the  I''rench, 
and  Josc])h's  only  possessions  in  Spain  were  Barcelona,  Navarre, 
and  Biscay.  Napoleon  chafed  when  he  learned  the  rex'crses 
suffered  by  his  arms  in  the  I'eninsula.  and  resolved  that  his  best 
generals  and  his  German  and  Italian  armies  should  cross  tlie 
Pyrenees  to  efface  the  disgrace  sufTered  at  Baylen  and  stitlc  at  ils 
birth  an  insurrection  so  threatening  and  unexpected.  Napoleon 
being  resolved  to  subdue  Spain,  confirmed  at  Erfurt,  in  Se{)tem- 


334  FRANCE 

1808-1809 

bcr  and  October,  1808,  his  alliance  with  Alexander.  The  Russian 
troops  had  taken  possession  of  Finland  in  the  north  and  in  the 
south  had  invaded  the  provinces  of  ]\Ioldavia  and  Wallachia, 
while  the  French  troops  invaded  Spain.  The  two  sovereigns 
signed  a  treaty  at  Erfurt  in  1808,  by  which  Napoleon  recognized 
the  three  provinces  invaded  by  Russia  as  an  integral  portion  of 
that  empire,  and  Alexander,  in  return,  recognized  the  Napoleonic 
dynasty  in  Spain,  and,  in  case  France  should  be  at  war  with  Aus- 
tria, engaged  to  assist  her  against  the  latter  power.  Napoleon 
now  marched  into  Spain,  accompanied  by  his  great  captains  and 
at  the  head  of  his  veterans,  and  victory,  therefore,  was  certain. 
The  Spaniards  were  defeated  on  November  10,  1808,  by  Soult,  at 
Burgos,  and  on  the  following  day  by  Victor  at  Espinosa  and  by 
Lannes  at  Tudela.  In  December  the  French  army  entered 
Madrid,  and  Joseph  Bonaparte  was  replaced  on  the  throne.  A 
division  of  the  English  army  in  Portugal,  under  the  orders  of  Sir 
John  Moore,  was  on  its  march  to  cover  this  capital,  but  at  the 
news  of  the  disasters  suffered  by  the  Spanish  armies  it  retreated 
before  Napoleon  upon  Astorga  and  Corunna.  Marshal  Soult 
followed  it  up  closely  and  attacked  the  British  troops  when  on  the 
point  of  embarkation  at  the  latter  port  (January  16,  1809).  He 
was  repulsed  by  Sir  John  Moore,  who  lost  his  life  in  the  action, 
and  the  English  embarked  on  the  following  day. 

In  the  meantime  Austria  emboldened  by  the  absence  of  Na- 
poleon, and  by  the  revolt  of  the  Tyrolese  against  the  Bavarians, 
formed  a  fifth  coalition  with  England.  The  Archduke  Charles 
accepted  the  command  of  the  troops,  which  amounted  to  five 
hundred  thousand  men,  divided  into  eight  corps.  Two,  under 
the  Archduke  Ferdinand,  were  to  invade  Poland ;  three  others, 
under  the  Archduke  John,  were  to  march  into  Italy  and  the  Tyrol, 
while  the  other  corps,  assembled  on  the  Bohemian  frontier,  were 
to  march  upon  the  Rhine,  arousing  on  their  way  the  whole  of 
Germany.  The  French  troops  in  these  countries  did  not  amount 
at  this  time  to  more  than  a  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  men, 
who  were  dispersed  from  the  Baltic  to  the  Danube,  under  tlie 
command  of  Davout  and  Oudinot.  Eugene  de  Beauharnais  occu- 
pied Piedmont  and  Italy  with  a  few  divisions.  At  the  first  rumor 
of  the  intention  of  Austria,  and  the  movement  of  her  armies. 
Napoleon  left  Spain,  and  on  April  17,  1809,  arrived  on  the 
Danube,   wlien  owing  to  his  orders  for  the  concentration  of  his 


THE    e:\ipiiie  335 

1809 

troops  havinpf  been  misunderstood  hy  Berthier,  he  found  Davtnit 
at  Ratisbon,  and  Massena  thirty  Ica.q'ues  (hstant,  at  Auf^sbur^, 
the  alHcs  of  France,  the  Bavarians,  the  Wnrteniberq'  troops,  and 
the  rest  of  the  army  of  the  Confederation  of  the  Kliinc  occuj^vin;;- 
a  position  midway  between  them.  The  intention  of  tlie  arohchikc 
was  to  force  the  center  of  the  I'^xncli  army  by  passinq;  between  the 
corps  of  Dax'ont  and  Masscna.  Xa]iolcon  saw  the  i)eri1.  and 
takinj:^  adx'antas^'e  of  tlie  hesitation  sliown  bv  the  cnemv  on  Ids 
arrival.  ke[)t  him  for  two  days  almost  motionless,  concealinj:^  from 
him  the  weakness  of  the  fcM'ces  at  his  disposal  in  the  center,  in 
front  of  him.  lie  ordered  Dax'out  and  Massena  to  approach  each 
other  as  fast  as  possible,  and  to  join  the  army  of  the  confederation 
in  the  environs  of  Tngolstadt.  The  Archduke  Charles,  who  dared 
not  risk  a  forward  movement,  marched  towards  the  riijh.t  baiik  of 
the  Danube,  and  took  possession  of  Ratisbon,  which  Davout  was 
quitting.  Victorious  at  the  battle  of  ddiann.  Davout  effected  a 
junction  with  the  center  and  on  .April  k)  Xapoleon  saw  the  whole 
of  his  army  concentrated  under  his  hand.  d"hc  fotir  i"ollowing 
days  were  marked  by  the  victories  of  Alicnsberc,-.  in  which  the 
emperor  broke  the  archduke's  line,  took  possession  oi  his  base  of 
operations,  routed  his  left,  and  took  its  artillery  and  magazines; 
of  Eckmiihl,  in  which  on  April  22  he  van([tu'shed  the  whole  of  the 
enemy's  army,  and  drox'C  it  back  between  the  Iscr  anil  the  Dan- 
ube; and  of  I-iatisbon,  which  Napokvjii  took  on  Ai)ril  2^^  after  a 
bloody  battle.  Prince  Charles  retreated  upon  the  frontier  of 
r>(diemia,  and  the  b^-eneh  marched  upon  Vienna,  wliich  \a])oleon 
entered  on  May  13.  The  war.  howe\er.  was  not  at  an  end,  for 
the  Emperor  I'rancis  had  retreated  to  Znaim  with  large  forces, 
and  the  Archduke  Charles  marched  towards  the  capital  by  the 
left  bank  of  the  Danube,  and  soon  took  up  a  position  ojiposite 
Vienna  on  the  famous  plains  of  W'agram.  To  attack  the  arch- 
duke it  was  necessary  to  cross  the  Danube,  of  which  the  Ijriilges 
in  the  neighborhood  of  \denna  had  been  destroyed.  Xa])oleou's 
first  step  was  to  throw  l.>ridges  across  the  stream  at  h"d)ersdorf  and 
occupy  the  large  island  of  r>obau.  wliich  was  can-icd  on  May  -'o. 
Lannes  and  Massena  then  crossed  from  the  island  to  flie  left  bank 
of  the  stream,  wdien  the_\'  took  the  \illages  of  b'ssling  and  Aspern. 
where  they  sustained  during  two  daws  the  assault  of  a  hundred 
thousand  Austrians.  The  \illages  were  (i\e  times  taken  and  re- 
taken, and  gave  their  names  to  these  terrible  battles.     At  length 


Sm  FRANCE 

1809 

another  portion  of  the  army  effected  the  passage,  and  joined  the 
intrepid  divisions  of  Lannes  and  JNIassena.  That  under  Davout 
was  to  follow,  but  Napoleon,  without  awaiting  his  arrival,  in  his 
impetuosity  attacked  an  enemy  twice  as  strong,  numerically,  as 
himself.  Lannes  pierced  the  Austrian  center;  the  archduke  was 
in  full  retreat,  and  Napoleon  was  preparing  to  follow  up  his  vic- 
tory when  he  heard  that  Davout's  corps,  on  which  he  had  im- 
plicitly relied,  had  been  unable  to  effect  the  passage  of  the  Danube 
ami  that  the  bridges  over  the  river  had  been  broken.  He  now 
found  himself  compelled  to  order  a  retreat,  upon  which  the  Aus- 
trians  rallied  and  returned  against  the  French  in  formidable 
masses,  with  the  intention  of  surrounding  the  latter  and  driving 
them  into  the  river.  But  the  communications  of  the  French 
with  the  isle  of  Lobau  had  not  been  cut  off,  and  it  was  to  this 
island  that  Napoleon  now  led  back  his  troops.  Here  he  was 
joined  on  June  14  by  the  army  of  Italy  under  Eugene,  who  in  his 
march  thither  had  defeated  the  Austrians  under  the  Archduke 
John  at  Piave,  Tarwitz,  Goritz  and  Raab,  the  last  of  which 
victories  enabled  Napoleon  to  resume  the  offensive. 

After  forty  days'  labor,  three  immense  bridges  spanned  the 
Danube,  and  opened  a  passage  for  fifty  thousand  troops  and  five 
hundred  pieces  of  cannon.  The  army  crossed  the  river  on  the 
stormy  night  of  July  4,  exposed  to  a  terrific  cannonade,  and  on 
the  following  day  carried  the  formidable  entren'chments  which 
had  been  erected  opposite  the  island,  between  Essling  and  Aspern. 
On  the  following  day  a  fruitless  attack  was  made  on  the  enemy, 
who  occupied  strong  positions  on  the  hills  of  Wagram  and 
heights  of  Russbach,  but  on  July  6  a  sanguinary  and  obstinate 
contest  and  the  splendid  victory  of  Wagram,  as  the  battle  was 
called,  once  more  placed  Austria  at  the  mercy  of  Napoleon. 
Francis  I.  had  to  obtain  peace  by  means  of  the  most  serious  sacri- 
fices, and  by  a  treaty  of  peace  signed  at  Vienna  on  October  12, 
1809.  he  ceded  on  the  various  frontiers  of  his  states,  to  Italy, 
Bavaria  and  Ru'ssia,  several  circles  and  provinces,  and  three 
millions  of  subjects.  He  promised,  moreover,  to  pay  a  heavy  war 
contribution  and  to  adhere  to  the  continental  blockade. 

The  English,  in  the  course  of  this  campaign,  had  landed  in 
Holland,  in  the  island  of  Walcheren,  forty-five  thousand  men. 
Flushing  had  fallen  into  their  hands  after  a  desperate  resistance 
and   they  already  threatened  Antwerp.      But   fever  mowed   down 


T  II  E     E  M  P  I  R  E  337 

1809-1810 

the  English  troops  by  tlioiisands  in  t!ie  island  of  W'alcliercn  and 
tliey  were  compelled  at  length  to  evacuate  Zealand,  wb.ere  the 
town  of  Flushing  alone  remained  in  their  pcnver. 

On  X^apulenn's  return  to  ]\aris  he  found  that  a  serious  mis- 
understanding had  arisen  with  the  court  of  Rome.  Pope  Pius 
VII.  had  not  closed  his  jxtrts  against  the  English,  and,  justly  dis- 
pleased at  Xapoleon's  encroachments  on  his  territory,  had  re- 
solved to  refuse  the  Pontifical  bulls  to  the  new  I'rench  bisho])^. 
The  emperor  irritated  at  this,  forthwith  deprived  the  Pope  of  his 
temporal  power,  and  was  excommunicated.  The  excitement  of 
the  Roman  po]")ulace  placed  the  I'^rench  troops  in  l\ome  in  a  posi- 
tion of  great  peril.  General  AFiollis.  the  gt)vernor  of  the  city, 
considered  that  the  removal  of  the  Pope  was  necessary,  and  Pius 
VII.,  after  having  been  violently  torn  from  the  Pontifical  palace, 
was  first  removed  to  Savona  and  then  to  Fontainebleau.  There 
he  remained  in  durance  for  four  years,  while  the  ancient  capital 
of  the  world  was  transformed  into  the  chief  town  of  a  French 
department. 

The  Spanish  insurrection  had  become  much  more  general 
immediately  after  the  emperor's  departure.  The  ])opulace  arose 
in  every  direction  and  the  desire  f(^r  national  independence  was  a 
bond  which  united  all  parties  against  I-'rance.  It  was  in  vain  that 
Napoleon's  generals  obtained  numerous  victories;  that  Sebastiani 
triumphed  at  Ciudad-Real,  Victor  at  Madelin,  and  Soult  at 
Oporto;  for  the  examjile  of  Palafox,  the  defender  of  Saragossa. 
and  the  heroism  of  its  inhabitants,  who  allowed  themsehes  to  he 
buried  under  its  ruins  rather  than  submit,  excited  the  enthusiasm 
and  patriotism  of  the  Spaniards,  while  the  luiglish  successfully 
seconded  their  efforts.  On  Julv  28  the  I'^-ench  under  \'ictor  anil 
Sebastiani  were  repulsed  at  'i^davera  by  Sir  Arthur  Wellcsley 
and  compelled  to  retreat  after  an  obstinate  C(Mitest.  which  lasted 
two  days.  But  Sebastiani  was  \ictorious  cn-er  the  Spaniards  cu 
August  21  at  .\lmonacid,  and  Mortier  at  Ocana  on  November  n), 
and  Andalusia  fell  into  the  j)o\ver  of  the  b^'ench.  Sjxain,  how- 
ever, was  not  yet  concpiered,  and  in  18 10  was  commenced  a  fresh 
campaign  as  murderous  as  the  preceding.  Marshal  Suchet  in- 
vested the  fortresses  of  Aragon.  ami  held  that  province  in  check 
while  Marshal  Soult  took  in  succession  Granada,  Seville,  and 
Malaga,  and  compelled  the  provisional  junta  of  Seville  to  retire 
to  Cadiz,  which  French  troops  besieged.     .\  third  army,  under  the 


338  FRANCE 

1810-1811 

orders  of  IMassena,  had  to  struggle  against  the  Anglo-Portuguese 
army  of  Wellington,  wliich  was  very  superior  in  numbers,  but 
which  nevertheless  retreated  before  it  towards  Lisbon.  Massena 
sustained  defeat  at  the  bloody  battle  of  Busaco,  and  was  stopped 
by  Wellington  before  the  lines  of  Torres  Vedras,  wdiich  protected 
the  capital,  and  received,  on  October  lo,  the  whole  British  army. 

Wliile  the  Peninsula  devoured  the  best  troops  of  the  French 
army,  Napoleon  attained  the  highest  point  of  his  prodigious 
destiny.  Equally  influenced  by  his  desire  to  have  an  heir,  and  by 
his  ambition  to  be  allied  with  the  old  dynasties  of  Europe,  he 
repudiated  Josephine  de  Beauharnais,  his  first  wife,  and  married, 
on  March  30,  1810,  Maria  Louisa,  xA.rchduchess  of  xA.ustria,  the 
daughter  of  the  Emperor  Francis. 

In  the  course  of  this  year  Holland  was  annexed  to  France, 
wdiile  one  of  his  generals,  Bernadotte,  the  Prince  of  Ponte-Corvo, 
was  elected  by  the  Estates-General  of  Sweden  as  successor  to 
Charles  XIIL,  who  was  childless.  The  annexation  of  Holland, 
which  deprived  his  brother  Louis  of  his  crown,  was  followed  by 
an  act  still  more  unjustifiable,  for  Napoleon,  on  December  13, 
i8[o,  without  any  preliminary  announcement,  annexed  to  his 
empire,  by  a  scnafiis  consul fum.  the  Valais,  the  Hanseatic  towns, 
and  the  coasts  of  the  Baltic  from  the  Ems  to  the  Elbe.  Among 
the  princes  who  had  been  deprived  of  their  possessions  was  the 
Grand  Duke  of  Oldenburg,  the  uncle  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia, 
and  Alexander  regarded  this  decree,  which  forcibly  dispossessed 
a  member  of  his  family,  as  a  personal  insult  to  himself.  Fie  now 
listened  to  those  about  him  who  were  most  eager  that  he  should 
break  with  France,  and  on  December  31  replied  to  the  scnatus 
cunsultuin  by  a  commercial  ukase  which  closed  Russia  against  a 
large  number  of  French  products,  and  opened  its  ports  to  the 
products  of  the  English  colonies  when  conveyed  in  neutral  bot- 
toms. Fresh  levies  of  troops  were  ordered  throughout  his  domin- 
ions, his  armies  marched  upon  the  Niemen,  and  Europe  awaited 
fresh  and  sinister  events. 

In  the  Peninsula  Suchet  retained  the  upper  hand  in  Aragon 
and  Catalonia ;  but  in  Estremadura,  Andalusia,  and  Portugal  the 
armies  of  Soult  and  Massena  endured  great  hardships  and  strug- 
gled against  immense  difiiculties.  Soult  had  captured  Badajoz, 
and  from  thence  had  marched  to  Cadiz,  to  hasten  the  reduction 
of  that  important  place,  but  the  English  speedily  besieged  Bada- 


T  II  K     i:  MV\  H  E  339 

1811 

joz  in  their  turn  and  compelled  Sonit  to  return  to  F.'^tre- 
niadura.  Masscna,  liavinq;  failed  to  force  tlie  fonni(lal)le  lines 
of  Torres  Vcdras,  liad  found  himself  compelled  to  retmn  to 
Spain,  and  had  retreated  to  Salamanca,  closely  pursued  hy 
Wellington.  At  the  end  of  April.  iSii.  having'  received  rein- 
forcements, he  made  an  effort  to  relieve  Almada.  which  the 
English  were  besieging.  On  his  way  thither  he  encountered  the 
enemy  on  Mav  3,  181 1,  at  the  village  of  Fuentes  d'Onoro,  lialf- 
way  between  Almada  and  Ciudad-Rodrigo.  There  ]\rassena  en- 
gag'ed  Wellington.  A  terrible  battle  took  place,  but  after  sustain- 
ing the  contest  for  three  days,  ]Massena  was  crimpelled  to  fall 
back  and  retreat  upon  Salamanca.  Xapolcon  rcpn^ached  him 
for  not  having  been  victorious  and  replaced  him  in  his  command 
by   ■Marshal  Alaimont. 

d1ie  empire  was  in  a  state  of  decline,  hut  fate  still  granted  to 
the  emperor  a  g'reat  and  much  longed  for  fa\'or.  Tie  had  a  >iin 
born  to  him  in  March,  iSii,  who  was  j)roclaimed  King  of  Rome 
in  the  cradle.  Napoleon  now  desired  to  terminate  his  protracted 
differences  with  the  court  of  Rome,  and  assembled  a  general 
council  in  Paris  for  the  purpose  of  regulating,  with  the  assistance 
of  that  assembly,  the  ecclesiastical  affairs  of  the  empire.  Tlie 
sovereign  Pontiff,  up  to  this  time,  had  persisted  in  refusing  to 
institute  the  b^rench  bishops  appointed  l)y  the  emperor,  the  num- 
ber of  which  had  been  raised  to  twenty-seven.  Xapolc(Ui  desired 
that  the  Pope  sliould  acce]it  at  the  expense  of  France  a  sumptuous 
but  dependent  establishment  at  Rome,  at  Paris,  or  at  Avignon, 
and  shfmld  thus  renounce  his  temjioral  power.  Tie  demanded, 
moreo\er,  on  the  ground  of  the  necessities  of  the  several  dioceses, 
that  the  bishops  should  be  canonically  instituted  and  sought  some 
legal  method  of  providing  for  tlieir  in-tituti( -n,  should  the  Pope 
refuse  to  bestow  it.  The  emperor's  Hrst  projiosition  was  rejected 
})y  ]'ius  YIT.,  but  he  w;is  more  yielding  on  the  second  i)oint,  and 
at  the  rc<iuest  of  the  members  of  the  council,  whom  Xapoleo;i 
forced  to  work  his  will  in  a  most  ai'bitrarx-  maimer,  he  promised 
to  institute  the  twenty-seven  bishops,  and  the  council  was  then 
dissolved. 


Chapter      XXI 

FALL   OF   THE    NAPOLEONIC   EMPIRE.     1811-1814 

WHILE  insisting  with  offensive  haughtiness  that  Alex- 
ander should  withdraw  the  ukase  of  December  31, 
Napoleon  chose  to  ignore  the  much  more  serious 
wrong  which  he  had  done  to  the  czar  by  annexing  the  grand 
duchy  of  Oldenburg  to  his  empire  without  according  any  in- 
demnity to  the  duke.  The  attempt  to  enforce  the  continental 
blockade  again  seemed  to  render  necessary  a  control  of  the  states 
of  Europe,  and  to  effect  this  object  Napoleon  drew  down  in- 
numerable calamities  upon  France  and  upon  himself.  Even  nov/ 
the  tyranny  of  the  imperial  rule  was  severely  felt  in  France  and 
the  countries  that  had  been  annexed  to  the  empire,  and  the  peoples 
whom  he  held  in  restraint  and  subjection  were  beginning  to  pro- 
test, by  word  and  deed,  against  the  despotism  that  enchained 
them.  In  France,  worn  by  lack  of  food,  and  deprived  by  the 
constant  conscriptions  of  those  wdio  ■  should  have  been  adding  to 
her  prosperity  and  means  of  support  by  engaging  in  agriculture, 
commerce  and  the  peaceful  arts,  complaints  were  heard  daily,  and 
revolts,  which  were  promptly  stifled  at  their  outbreak,  were  of 
frequent  occurrence.  The  bitter  evils  of  the  imperial  system,  in- 
tolerable in  France,  were  felt  even  more  heavily  in  the  unhappy 
countries  which  Napoleon  had  conquered,  which  were  crushed  by 
taxes  and  devastated  by  the  continual  passage  of  armies.  The 
French  name  became  odious  to  the  peoples  who  submitted  in 
despair  to  the  rule  of  France  or  its  oppressive  ascendency.  It  wa.^ 
on  these  peoples,  however,  and  their  sovereigns,  that  Napoleon 
thought  he  could  rely  in  his  enterprise  against  Russia,  and  it  was 
in  this  belief  that  he  had  imposed  his  alliance  upon  Austria  aufl 
Prussia,  with  whom  he  had  concluded  fresh  treaties.  He  then 
assembled  his  army  behind  the  Vistula,  and,  on  the  invitation  of 
tlie  King  of  Saxony,  he  set  out  from  Paris  in  May,  1812,  and  es- 
tablished himself  with  his  court  at  Dresden,  under  pretext  of  as- 
sembling the  other  sovereigns  at  a  congress  which  was  attended 

3i0 


FALL     OF     T  H  E     E  M  V  I  R  E  3+1 

1812 

i)y  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  the  King-  of  Pru-^sia,  and  many  of  the 
sovereig^ns  of  luirope.  but  in  rcahty  with  the  ])urpos-  of  (h'awin.L,'- 
near  to  his  army  and  being  in  a  position  to  surprise  the  enemy  by 
a  sudden  attack  at  the  commencement  of  the  cam])aign. 

Xapoleon  resolved  not  to  commence  the  cami)aign  until  the 
month  of  Jime.  1812,  and  in  the  meantime,  while  he  was  con- 
stantly attempting  to  deceive  Alexander  by  assurances  of  his 
amicable  feelings  towards  him.  he  assembled  behind  the  Vistula 
an  immense  army  of  four  hundred  and  twenty-three  thousand 
men.  a  thousand  i)ieces  of  artillery,  six  pontoon  equipages  and  a 
month's  provisions,  'idiis  army  was  supported  by  two  hundred 
thousand  reserve  troops,  who  were  distributed  between  the  Elbe 
and  the  Vistula.  Idiis  formidable  mobilization  of  troops  had  al- 
ready justly  aroused  the  alarm  of  the  Emperor  Alexander,  and 
now,  foreseeing  the  danger  which  threatened  him.  he  formed 
with  England,  Spain,  and  Portugal  a  new  coalition,  into  which  he 
succeeded  in  drawing  Sweden,  by  allowing  Charles  XIII.  to  take 
possession  of  Xorway,  which  had  long  been  a  dependency  of 
Denmark.  Napoleon  now  no  longer  concealed  his  hostile  designs 
and  on  June  25  he  commenced  the  campaign,  alleging  as  a  reason 
for  his  aggression,  a  recent  and  formal  demand  wdiich  he  had 
receiveil  from  Alexander  to  remove  the  French  troops  from 
western  fVussia.  Fie  crossed  the  Xiemen  witli  the  larger  portion 
of  his  forces,  and  on  the  28th  he  entered  W^ilna.  where  he  received 
a  final  letter  from  -Alexander  suggesting"  ])eacc.  and  promising  tii 
continue  his  alliance  with  France  if  Xajioleon  would  e\'acuate 
the  Russian  territory.  But  to  ha\e  retreated  a  step  would  have 
been  a  humiliation  in  the  eyes  of  X'apoleon.  lie  sent  a  rejily  in 
the  negative  and  halted  seventeen  days  at  WMlna — -a  delay  whicli 
was  fatal.  Fhe  emperor  then  continued  his  march,  and  arri\-ed 
at  W'itepsk  after  a  series  of  conilicts.  The  enemy's  army  retired 
before  him.  The  I)nie[)er  was  speedily  crossed,  antl  a  bloody  bat- 
tle took  place  at  Krasnoe,  before  Smolensk,  which  was  carried 
after  a  murderous  conflict,  and  delivered  to  the  ilames.  The 
Russians  still  fell  back,  and  X'aptjleon  followed  them  in  the  di- 
rection of  Moscow.  The  Russians  declined  any  decisi\e  battle 
and,  retreating  after  each  defeat,  led  the  French  troops,  who 
pursued  them,  into  the  heart  of  old  Russia. 

The  army  arrived  at  length,  on  September  5.  on  the  plains 
of  Borodino,  some  leagues  distant  from   Moscow,  near  the  banks 


342  FRANCE 

1812 

of  the  Moskwa,  and  found  itself  face  to  face  with  the  whole 
Russian  army,  which  was  under  the  command  of  the  old  general 
Kutusoff.  A  general  engagement  took  place  on  September  7.  in 
which  the  Russians  were  defeated  and  compelled  to  retire,  after  a 
desperate  conflict.  The  Russians  retreated  to  Moscow,  and  their 
army  only  entered  that  ancient  capital  immediately  to  evacuate 
it.  After  a  time  the  French  entered  the  silent  streets  of  this  vast 
city,  and  were  astonished  to  find  them  utterly  deserted.  The  mass 
of  the  inhabitants  had  left  it  in  a  body.  Napoleon  entered  the 
citadel  of  the  Kremlin  unresisted.  He  resolved  to  establish  his 
winter  quarters  there  and  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  victory.  But 
during  the  night  a  frightful  conflagration  burst  forth.  Rostop- 
chin,  the  governor  of  the  city,  had  determined,  when  he  evacu- 
ated it,  to  make  a  great  sacrifice  for  the  purpose  of  saving  his 
country.  Russia  must  be  lost  if  the  French  could  find  a  refuge 
in  Moscow,  and  at  a  given  signal,  therefore,  convicts  were  sent 
throughout  the  city,  torch  in  hand,  to  fire  it  in  a  thousand  places. 
Moscow  crumbled  beneath  the  flames,  and  a  large  part  was 
speedily  nothing  but  a  heap  of  ashes.  The  winter  approached, 
and  the  French  had  no  asylum  against  its  rigors.  Napoleon  had 
hoped  for  peace,  but  as  Alexander  took  no  notice  of  his  offers  to 
negotiate,  he  ordered  a  retreat,  leaving  the  city  at  the  head  of  a 
hundred  thousand  troops.  The  Russians  intercepted  him  on  the 
road  to  Kaluga,  and  Kutusoff,  five  days  after  the  evacuation  of 
j\'Ioscow,  on  October  25.  fought  a  bloody  but  indecisive  battle 
with  the  French  at  ]\Ialojaroslawetz,  after  which  Napoleon, 
yielding  to  the  advice  of  his  generals,  directed  the  retreat  towards 
Smolensk. 

The  army  continued  its  march  in  tolerably  good  order  as 
far  as  the  Beresina,  which  it  had  to  cross  in  the  face  of  Kutusoff, 
Wittgenstein,  and  Tchitchagoff,  and  their  three  armies,  which 
occupied  and  barred  all  the  fords.  To  cross  the  river  it  was  nec- 
essary to  build  bridges  under  the  enemy's  fire  and  to  fight  in- 
cessantly. The  Russian  batteries  kept  up  a  constant  fire  as  the 
troops  ])assed  slowly  across  the  bridges,  which  broke  down  at 
last  under  the  weight  that  was  thrown  upon  them,  and  plunged 
thousands  of  men  into  the  Beresina.  At  length,  after  incredible 
efforts,  the  arniv  crossed  this  formidable  barrier,  but  the  moral 
energy  of  the  greater  number  of  the  French  troops  was  destroyed, 
and  the  retreat  became  one  vast  and  fearful  rout.      At    last  the 


FALL     OF     T  n  E     E  :\I  P  I  R  E  343 

1813-1814 

emperor,  learning  of  the  critical  situation  in  Paris  and  wisbiiii;' 
to  arrive  in.  llie  capital  before  the  news  of  liis  (Hsaslers.  fpiitteil 
liis  ariny  on  l)eceinl)cr  S,  after  .^'iviii.c^'  the  chief  command  to 
Murat. 

The  reverses  suffered  hv  the  Frencli  army  were  fohowed  by 
desertions.  The  Prussians  withdrew  at  Tilsit,  and  the  Austrians 
followed  their  example,  while  Alurat,  the  commander-in-chief, 
abandoned  his  post  and  deserted.  Eugene  took  the  command  and 
reestablished  order.  iM-ance  made  a  supreme  effort  and  gave  a 
new  army  to  Xapoleon.  Austria  renewed  its  i)rotestations  of 
fidelity,  while  Prussia  negotiated  with  Ivussia  at  Kalisch.  Eng- 
land promising  to  secure  Norway  to  Sweden,  obtained  the  acti\e 
C(K')perati()n  of  P)ernadotte  against  France.  Xapole(^n.  now  threat- 
ened in  every  direct icju,  rejoined  at  Liitzen,  on  April  30,  1S13. 
luigene  and  the  remains  of  the  grand  army,  and  gained  with 
conscripts,  against  the  veteran  troops  of  luirope,  the  cc^stly  vic- 
tories of  Liitzen  and  Bautzen.  He  then  renewed  his  negotia- 
tions for  peace,  and  it  was  arranged  that  a  congress  should  meet 
at  Prague  on  June  4.  Xapoleon,  however,  hesitated  to  accept  the 
terms  on  which  Austria  promised  her  support,  and  the  congress 
was  suddenly  dissolved  without  any  result,  and  Austria  declared 
war  against  l-'rance.  Xapolet^n  fought  the  enemy  under  the  walls 
of  Dresden,  and  was  victorious,  but  Vand.amme  sustained  a  ter- 
rible check  at  Kulm.  where  he  was  made  prisoner  and  lost  ten 
thousand  men.  The  allied  armies  grew  larger  day  by  day.  and 
many  contlicts  took  place  between  unecpial  forces.  Oudinot  was 
\an(iuished  at  Grosbeeren,  X'ey  at  Dennewitz.  Macdonald  at 
Katzbach.  Th.e  King  of  Bavaria  declared  war  against  Xapoleon, 
and  the  hYench  troops,  surrounded  on  all  sides,  retreatetl  to 
Eei])sic.  where  a  most  sanguinary  battle  took  place,  which  lasted 
three  tlays  (October  16-19,  1813),  and  in  which  Xapoleon  was 
defeated,  lie  retreated  upon  the  Khine.  closelx'  pressed  by  the 
allied  armies.  .V  corps  of  sixty  thousanil  Austrians  and  B;i- 
varians,  under  General  Wrede.  endeavored  near  Manau  to  inter- 
cept the  French  retreat,  but  unsuccessfully,  as  Xapoleon  dispersed 
the  enemv,  and  encamjied  his  army  on  tlie  Khine,  while  the  allies 
took  up  a  j)osition  ojjposite  to  him,  and  selected  Frankfort  as  their 
headcpiarters. 

Aleanwhile,  the  French  were  being  driven  out  of  Spain. 
Two  ureat  battles  had  been  lost,  Salamanca  bv  Marmont,  in   iSi  j. 


344  FRANCE 

1813 

and  Vittoria  by  King  Joseph,  in  1813,  and  Wellington  was  en- 
abled to  march  to  the  western  Pyrenees,  where  Soiilt,  after  hav- 
ing struggled  in  the  Peninsula  with  very  unequal  forces,  was  not 
in  a  position  to  oppose  him  successfully.  In  this  extremity  Na- 
poleon did  not  hesitate  to  sacrifice  his  brother's  crown,  and  in 
the  faint  hope  of  arresting  the  progress  of  the  Anglo-Spanish 
army  at  the  Pyrenees  he  engaged,  by  a  treaty  signed  at  Valengay, 
wdiere  he  still  kept  King  Ferdinand  captive,  to  acknowledge  him 
as  King  of  Spain  and  to  open  the  doors  of  his  prison  as  soon  as 
the  treaty  should  be  accepted  by  the  regency  at  Cadiz  and  the 
Cortes.  Prince  Eugene,  faithful  to  France,  still  struggled  at  this 
period  in  Italy,  and  heroically  defended  the  course  of  the  Adige, 
1)ut  the  weak  Alurat,  to  save  his  crown,  now  declared  against 
Napoleon. 

The  old  generals  and  supporters  of  the  empire — including 
even  Ney,  Marmont  and  Macdonald — now  openly  spoke  of  peace 
as  indispensable,  and  pressed  the  emperor  to  conclude  it,  and  the 
ministers  of  England,  Russia,  and  Austria — Lord  Aberdeen, 
Nesselrode  and  Metternich — assembled  at  Frankfort,  proposed 
in  concert  to  Napoleon,  on  November  13,  the  immediate  con- 
vocation at  Mannheim  of  a  congress,  for  the  purpose  of  ne- 
gotiating peace  on  the  basis  of  the  reestablishment  of  the  king- 
dom of  France  within  its  ancient  limits — the  Pyrenees,  the  Alps 
and  the  Rhine — as  they  had  been  guaranteed  in  1801  by  the  Peace 
of  Luneville.  Napoleon  at  first  gave  an  ambiguous  reply  to  the 
propositions  of  the  foreign  ministers.  After  three  weeks'  delay, 
when  he  sent  in  his  assent  to  the  proposal  made  at  Frankfort,  it 
was  too  late.  Plolland  had  risen  in  insurrection,  and  chosen  the 
head  of  the  House  of  Orange  for  its  king;  Murat  had  separated  his 
fortunes  from  those  of  Napoleon,  and  England,  perceiving  how 
readily  Holland  had  freed'  herself,  conceived  the  hope  of  depriv- 
ing Napoleon  of  Antwerp  and  Belgium. 

Immense  resources  were  now  required  for  the  defense  of 
France,  which  was  exhausted  both  in  men  and  money,  and 
Napoleon,  having  assembled  the  senate  and  legislative  corps  on 
December  19,  1813,  explained  to  them  the  necessities  and  perils 
of  the  country,  and  desired  their  assistance.  The  reply  of  the 
senate  was  moderate  and  submissive,  but  the  legislative  corps  voted, 
in  answer  to  tlie  s])cech  from  the  throne,  an  address  in  which 
it  dem:indcd,  in  respectful  but  nevertheless  firm  and  distinct  terms. 


F  A  L  I.     O  F     T  11  i:     i:  M  P  I  R  E  3^5 

1814 

the  abandfjiiinciil  of  conquests  and  llie  restoration  of  a  lc.i;al  form 
of  govcninicnt. 

This  opposition  was  (Icnominatcd  treason  ])y  Ihc  cnipcror.  and 
provoked  his  wralli.  By  his  orders  all  the  copies  of  the  address  were 
seized;  he  proroc^iied  the  legislative  assembly,  and  on  tlic  follow- 
ing" day,  January  i,  1814.  received  a  deputation  from  that  body 
with  a  storm  of  reproaches.  I'rc^n  this  time  parties  hostile  to 
the  emperor  were  formed  througlumt  the  empire,  and  Euroj)C 
understood  from  this  imprudent  outbreak  on  tiie  part  of  Xapoleon 
that  h'rance  no  longfer  supported  him  as  one  man.  The  whole 
virile  population  of  the  state  was  suiuuKMied  to  arms;  thirty  thou- 
sand national  guards  of  Paris  were  mobilized  and  incorporated 
with  the  active  army,  and  the  last  resources  of  the  nation  were 
called  into  requisition.  Xapoleon  declared  Maria  Louisa  regent. 
confided  his  wife  and  child,  whom  he  was  destined  to  see  no  more. 
to  the  national  guard,  and  took  the  field,  after  having  given  the 
command  of  the  capital  to  his  brother  Josc[)h. 

The  English  and  Spaniards  advanced  on  the  soutli,  and  were 
alrearly  at  the  Pyrenees;  sixty  thousand  men  undc!"  Schwartzcn- 
berg  marched  upon  France  by  Switzerland  and  inundated  the 
Franche-Comte ;  sixty  thmisand  Russians  and  Prussians  under 
Bliicher  penetrated  into  Lorraine  and  Alsace,  and  a  hundred 
thousand  Swiss  and  Germans  inwaded  Iklgium  under  Rernadotte. 
Napoleon  confided  to  General  ?vIaison  the  defense  of  the  frontier 
of  the  north,  and  that  of  Lyons  to  Augcreau.  and,  while  Sou1t  and 
Suchet  still  faced  the  enenu-  at  the  Pyrenee-;.  lie  onlcrcd  Marshals 
Ney,  Victor,  Marmont,  Macdonald,  and  AliMlier  to  fall  back  vvith 
the  feeble  remnants  of  their  various  corps  to  the  enxirons  i)i 
Chfdons,  where  he  himself  arri\-cd  (m  j.anuiry  25.  His  first  step 
was  to  march  rapidly  from  Clialons  to  Saint  Dizier;  tlicnce  iie 
])roccedcd  to  meet  IMiicher,  and  encountered  him  under  the  walls 
of  Briennc,  where  he  gave  him  battle  and  gained  a  victory. 
Bliicher  was  dislodged  frrmi  Briennc  with  great  loss  ruid  drixen 
back  upon  La  Rotliiere,  whence  he  retreated  as  far  as  Tranne.  In- 
formed of  lUiicIier's  defeat,  Schwartzcnberg  hastened  to  etferl  a 
junction  with  him  (>pposite  the  plateau  of  La  Kotbiere.  wliere  tlie 
emperor  had  li.alted.  At  this  spot  there  took  place  on  i'ebrnary 
I,  1814,  a  despei-ate  conllict,  which  l.'isted  eight  hours  and  ended 
without  any  decided  result,  the  enemy  being  unable  to  can-\-  t'lr 
positions  of  the  iM'cnch,  but   retaining  their  own.     It  was  neces- 


S46  FRANCE 

1814 

sary  to  fall  back  before  the  formidable  masses  of  the  allies,  and 
during  the  night  Napoleon  effected  in  good  order  a  retreat  upon 
Troyes.  From  all  sides  now  came  news  of  fresh  disasters. 
]\Iurat  declared  openly  against  Napoleon,  and  was  marching  to 
crush  Prince  Eugene;  the  Spanish  regency  of  Cadiz  refused  to 
recognize  the  Treaty  of  Valencay,  as  Ferdinand  would  remain  in 
captivity,  and  the  Anglo-Spanish  arms  retained  a  large  portion 
of  the  French  troops  on  the  xA.dour  and  Pyrenees.  Schwartzen- 
berg  and  Bliicher  continued  their  march,  and  hostile  forces  al- 
ready made  their  appearance  at  a  few  leagues'  distance  only  from 
the  capital.  Nothing,  however,  could  crush  Napoleon.  Pie  di- 
rected his  brother  Joseph  to  fortify  Paris  and  defend  it  to  the  last 
extremity;  ordered  Suchet  to  withdraw  the  French  troops  from 
Catalonia,  and  to  send  them  to  him  without  delay:  recalled 
Eugene,  ordering  him  to  evacuate  Italy  and  to  unite  his  forces 
with  those  which  Augereau  had  assembled  at  Lyons;  had  the 
Pope  conducted  back  to  Italy,  and  set  at  liberty  Ferdinand  VII.. 
after  having  obtained  his  promise  that  he  would  execute  the 
Treaty  of  Valencay;  sent  Caulaincourt,  Duke  of  Vicenza.  to  rep- 
resent France  and  to  negotiate  peace  at  the  Congress  of  Chatillon, 
which  had  assembled  on  the  demand  of  England  and  Austria. 

Bliicher  was  now  marching  upon  Paris  by  the  valley  of  the 
Marne,  while  Schwartzenberg  followed  the  course  of  the  Seine. 
Leaving  a  portion  of  his  forces  in  the  environs  of  Nogent  and 
^Nlontereau,  under  Victor,  Oudinot,  and  Gerard,  to  watch  and 
hold  in  check  Schwartzenberg.  Napoleon  threw  himself  with  tlie 
rest,  upon  the  army  under  Bliicher.  Four  days  sufficed  Napoleon 
to  overtake  and  vanquish  the  four  corps  of  Bliicher's  army  one 
after  the  other.  On  February  lo  he  engaged  and  destroyed  the 
Russian  corps  of  Olssouvieff  at  Champ-Aubert ;  on  the  following 
day  he  fought  and  defeated  General  Sacken,  at  Alontmirail;  on 
February  13,  1814,  he  defeated  General  Yorck  and  Prince  Wil- 
liam of  Prussia  at  Chateau  Thierry,  and  on  the  14th  encountered 
Bliicher  at  Vauchamps,  vanquished  him,  and  drove  him  beyond 
Etogcs.  six  leagues  from  Chalons.  Napoleon  thus  victorious,  re- 
solved to  advance  without  delay  against  Schwartzenberg,  and  ar- 
rived nil  I'cljruary  15  at  Guigncs.  On  the  17th  he  assumed  the 
offensive,  attacked  the  enemy,  and  put  him  to  flight  with  consider- 
able loss  at  the  battles  of  Mormont,  Nangis,  and  Villeneuve,  and 
again    on    the     i8th    at    ]\lontereau.     Schwartzenberg,    completely 


1-^  A  L  L     O  V     T  II  E     !•:  M  PIKE  1347 

1814 

beaten,  ordered  a  retreat  u|)on  Troves,  which  he  only  ])asscd 
throuL^h,  and  which  Napoleon  reentered  as  a  victor  on  I'ehruary  jj. 
The  representatives  of  the  p(t\vcrs  at  the  Coni^ress  of  Cha- 
tillon  had  h\'  this  time  drawn  np  definite  conditions  of  ])eace, 
which  jn'ovided  tiiat  l'"rancc  shonld  recTUer  tlie  bunndaries  within 
which  she  had  been  confined  in  I7<)-',  and  take  no  part  in  the  ar- 
rani^ement  of  the  other  states  in  luirope.  This  was  to  dejirive 
her  of  the  Rhine  and  Alps  boundary  lines,  which  had  been  left 
her  by  the  Frankfort  proj^ositions.  and  of  her  rank  as  a  Euro- 
pean ])ower.  Xapoleon  rejected  these  offensive  ]n"opr)sitions  with 
ang-er  antl  contempt.  lie  was  determined  to  have  the  Rhine 
boundary,  which  had  been  offered  at  J"'rankfort,  and  demanded 
that  which  his  enemies  had  alreatly  resolved  not  to  grant  him. 
The  allied  powers  ntnv  signed  at  Chaumont  a  new  treaty  of  alli- 
ance, by  which  each  of  them  engaged  to  furnish  a  contingent  of  a 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men  until  tlic  conclusion  of  the  war. 
and  England  further  offered  an  annual  subsidy  of  six  millions 
sterling,  to  be  divided  between  Russia,  Prussia,  and  Austria.  'J'lie 
powers  mutually  agreed,  moreover,  that  they  would  severally  keep 
up  during  twent}'  years  after  the  signature  of  peace  an  army  of 
sixty  thousand  men  to  be  at  the  disposal  of  whichever  of  them 
France  should  attack.  This  treat}',  so  fatal  to  b'rance.  served 
as  the  basis  of  the  famous  treaty  sul)se(|uently  known  by  the 
name  of  the  Holy  Alliance.  With  reference  to  the  pro]")osals  made 
at  the  Congress  of  Chatillon,  a  term  was  fixetl  after  which,  it  was 
declared,  the  negotiati(Mis  with  Xapoleon  would  be  broken  off  and 
never  renewed.  Bliicher.  who  in  the  interval  had  almost  repaired 
his  disasters,  had  Ijeen  reinforced  by  fifty  thousand  men  from 
Bernadotte's  army  and  had  taken  up  a  strong  i)osition  bchinil  the 
,*\isne  on  the  plateau  of  Craomie.  between  Soissons  and  Laon. 
From  this,  however,  he  was  forced  by  an  impetut)us  attack  of  Xa- 
poleon and  com])elletl  to  withdraw  to  Eaon,  where,  after  two 
days'  desperate  fighting,  he  managed  to  retain  his  positiiMi.  Un- 
able to  del'eat  Blucher,  to  whose  assistance  Schwart/:enl)erg  was 
ra])idly  a])i)roaching.  Xajjoleon  ordered  a  retreat,  but.  with  a  des- 
perate hope  of  checking  the  junction  of  the  allied  tn)ops  by  a  vic- 
tory over  Schwart/.enbcrg  on  his  way.  he  suddenl\-  marched  to 
Arcis-sur-Aube.  where  he  ga\-e  that  general  battle.  Victorious  so 
far  only  as  the  maintenance  of  posit ious  ni.ake  a  \ictor\-.  the  em- 
peror,   finding-    himself    un.able    to    do    more    than    slighily    check 


348  FRANCE 

1814 

Schwartzenberg's  march,  retired  to  St.  Dizier,  hoping  to  draw  the 
allies  after  him  and  away  from  Paris,  or  in  event  of  their  march- 
ing on  Paris  to  gain  time  to  collect  more  t:roops  and  returning  to 
the  capital  to  crush  them  there.  Napoleon  had  now  allowed  the 
fatal  period  to  expire  without  replying  to  the  proposals  of  the  Con- 
gress of  Chatillon  and  the  congress  was  dissolved.  The  allied 
sovereigns  announced  that  they  were  not  at  war  with  France,  but 
only  with  Napoleon,  and  it  was  to  Paris  that  they  resolved  to 
march  without  delay  for  the  purpose  of  dethroning  the  emperor. 

France  w^as  equally  invaded  on  the  south,  the  Anglo-Spanish 
army,  under  Wellington,  having  already  crossed  the  Pyrenees. 
Soult  gave  them  battle  at  Orthez,  and  being  defeated,  was  com- 
pelled to  order  a  retreat  and  fall  back  upon  Toulouse,  leaving  Bor- 
deaux uncovered,  which  opened  its  gates  to  the  English,  and  on 
March  12  declared  for  the  Bourbons, 

Marmont  and  Mortier,  who  had  occupied  a  strongly  en- 
trenched position  behind  the  Ourcy  canal,  had  fallen  back  upon 
Paris,  after  having  sustained  a  defeat  at  Pere  Champenoise.  No 
obstacle  now  hindered  the  march  of  the  allies,  and  on  March  29 
their  columns  took  up  positions  around  the  capital. 

Consternation  reigned  in  the  immense  city,  for  whose  protec- 
tion and  defense  no  preparations  had  been  made.  The  government 
itself  was  in  a  state  of  profound  stupor.  The  Empress  Maria 
Louisa  in  obedience  to  orders  left  by  the  emperor  in  case  such  an 
emergency  should  happen,  set  out  for  Blois,  carrying  with  her  the 
King  of  Rome,  but  her  flight  completely  paralyzed  the  defense. 
Paris  was  already  invested  on  every  side,  and  on  March  30  the 
attack  commenced  on  the  one  side,  in  front  of  La  Villette,  La 
Cliapelle,  and  Montmartre,  and  on  the  other,  between  Vincennes, 
Charonne,  and  the  heights  of  Belleville.  The  battle  lasted  till  the 
evening,  when  at  length,  to. stop  the  effusion  of  blood  and  to  spare 
the  capital  the  horrors  of  capture  by  assault,  the  marshals  capit- 
ulated, having  obtained  a  free  retreat  for  their  troops,  and  quitted 
Paris  during  the  night,  while  King  Joseph  and  all  the  ministers  of 
the  imperial  government  hastened  to  Blois.  Napoleon,  who  was 
hastening  towards  Paris,  heard  of  the  capitulation  and  the  events 
which  had  preceded  it,  at  Fromenteau,  near  Essone,  but  hoping  yet 
to  retrieve  the  disasters  which  had  happened,  he  proceeded  to  Fon~ 
tainebleau,  which  he  made  his  headquarters. 

Paris  now  received  within  its  walls  the  allied  sovereigns,  at  the 


F  A  L  I.     ()  F     T  IT  E     E  :\I  P  I  U  !•:  349 

1814 

head  of  their  armies.  The  Kmperor  r)f  Russia  entered  the  capital 
on  March  31,  toii^elher  witii  tiie  King'  of  Prussia,  and  was  rccci\cil 
■with  (lemonstratinns  in  favor  of  tlie  liourhons.  His  hrst  act  was 
to  pubhsh,  in  llie  name  of  the  alhed  sovereigns,  a  celebrated  declar- 
ation that  they  would  ne\er  negotiate  wiih  Xap^deon  Bonaparte 
or  with  any  member  of  his  family,  that  those  sovereigns  would 
recognize  and  guarantee  the  constitution  which  hYance  should 
choose  for  herself,  and  that  the  senate  was  invited  to  form  a  pro- 
visional g'overnment  to  provide  for  the  government  of  the  country 
and  to  jM'cpare  the  new  constitution. 

The  senate  accordingly  a])pointed  a  provisional  government  of 
hve  members,  the  I'rince  Talleyrand,  the  Duke  of  nalberg.  Cicn- 
eral  Beurn(jnville,  the  .Vbbe  de  Montesquiou,  and  M.  de  Jancourt, 
who  immediately  fcnancd  a  ministry.  On  the  following  day,  April 
2,  1 8 14,  the  senate  proceeded  to  declare  Xapoleon  deprived  of  the 
throne,  and  released  all  IT'ench  subjects  from  their  oaths  of  fidelity 
to  him  and  his  family. 

Xapoleon,  however,  still  had  powerful  resources  at  his  com- 
mand. The  army  under  Augercau  at  I.yons.  the  armies  of  Soult 
and  Suchet  in  the  south,  that  of  luigene  in  Italy,  and  seventy  thou- 
sand men,  under  his  own  direct  command  at  I'oiUainebleau.  and  he 
determined  to  make  a  supreme  effort  to  reco\er  Paris.  But  although 
the  troops  were  willing  to  folkiw  him,  his  marshals,  when  sum- 
moned to  a  council  of  war  by  the  emperor,  before  setting  out  for 
Paris,  did  not  hesitate  to  declare  t<)  him  that  if  he  ]XM-sislcd  in  his 
desperate  enterprise  he  must  not  reckon  upon  their  assistance. 
Poinding  himself  on  the  jxn'nt  of  being  abandoned  by  the  illustrious 
companions  with  whom  he  had  so  often  been  victorious,  his  resolu- 
tion gave  wa}'.  lie  offered  to  abdicate  in  fa\"or  of  his  S(~in,  who 
would  reign  under  the  regency  of  his  mother,  and  sent  Caulaincourt, 
Xey,  Macdonald,  and  r^larmont  to  Paris,  to  negotiate  on  this  new 
basis. 

Alexander,  however,  told  Caulaincourt  and  the  marshals  that 
X^apoleon  must  make  an  unconditional  abdication,  and  that,  in  re- 
turn, he  should  be  treated  with  all  due  consideration.  The  nego- 
tiators were  consecpiently  sent  back'  to  i'^)ntainel)lerui  t(^  demand 
and  obtain  such  an  abdication.  Tlie  emperor,  looking  steadilv  at 
the  state  of  aiTairs.  saw  clearly  that  there  was  little  hope  of  saving 
his  crown,  or  of  reco\-ering  for  h'rance  her  froiitiers.  lie  resigned 
himself  to  his   fate,   therefore,  and   signed   his  abdication.       'J'lien. 


G50  FRANCE 

1814 

summoning  around  him  his  marshals,  who  had  been  impatient  to 
obtain  it,  he  addressed  to  them  a  few  sad  and  serious  words,  and 
read  to  them  his  deed  of  abdication,  which  he  then  handed  to  Caul- 
aincourt  to  excliange  in  Paris  for  one  in  which  should  be  set  forth 
the  fate  reserved  for  himself  and  his  family. 

The  senate  had  already  voted  for  France  a  constitution  by 
which  it  voluntarily  recalled  to  the  throne,  under  the  title  of  the 
King  of  the  French,  Louis  Stanislas  Xavier,  the  brother  of  Louis 
XVI.,  and  conferred  upon  him  the  hereditary  royalty.  This  con- 
stitution established  on  the  throne  an  inviolable  king,  the  sole  de- 
pository of  the  executive  power,  which  he  was  to  exercise  by  means 
of  responsible  ministers,  and  provided  that  he  should  share  the  legis- 
lative power  with  two  chambers ;  an  hereditary  one,  consisting  for 
the  most  part  of  the  members  of  the  senate,  and  an  elective  one.  It 
also  provided  for  an  irremovable  magistracy,  liberty  of  worship,  in- 
dividual liberty,  and  the  liberty  of  the  press.  Immediately  after  the 
publication  of  the  senatorial  constitution,  as  it  was  called,  the  pro- 
visional government  drew  up,  at  the  request  of  Alexander,  a  treaty 
which  assigned  the  island  of  Elba  to  Napoleon  in  full  sovereignty, 
gave  Parma  and  Piacenza  to  the  empress  and  the  King  of  Rome, 
promised  a  principality  to  Eugene,  and  finally  bestowed  incomes  on 
Napoleon  and  his  family.  This  treaty,  which  was  signed  on  April 
II  by  the  ministers  of  the  allied  sovereigns,  and  by  Talleyrand  in 
the  name  of  the  royal  government,  was  immediately  exchanged  for 
tlie  emperor's  deed  of  abdication ;  and  on  the  following  day  the 
Count  of  Artois,  the  brother  of  Louis  XVIII. ,  entered  Paris,  when 
the  white  flag  was  substituted  for  the  tricolor.  The  prince  received 
a  cordial  welcome  from  the  national  guard,  and  groups  of  royalists 
greeted  him  with  enthusiastic  shouts.  On  April  lo  a  battle  took 
place  under  the  walls  of  Toulouse,  between  Soult  and  Wellington, 
when  the  former,  after  an  obstinate  contest  which  was  prolonged  for 
twelve  hours,  was  defeated  and  compelled  to  retire  on  Villafranca. 

The  treaty  of  April  1 1  was  presented  to  X^apoleon  for  signa- 
ture on  the  evening  of  that  day,  but  he  hesitated  and  endeavored 
to  escape  the  humiliating  necessity  of  signing  his  own  dethronement 
and  that  of  his  descendants  by  taking  poison  which  he  had  carried 
on  his  person  ever  since  his  reverse  at  Moscow.^     The  pois(jn,  how- 

1  Kistorians  are  divided  as  to  whether  Napoleon  attempted  to  commit 
sincide.  The  evidence  does  not  justify  the  positive  statement  contained  in 
the  text. 


F  A  T.  L     ()  F     T  II  !•:     F.  M  P  I  U  E  351 

1814 

ever,  did  not  have  the  effect  that  he  expected,  and  on  recoverinj:^ 
from  a  deep  Ictharn^y  which  followed  his  attctnin  to  commit  suicide, 
he  placed,  without  fvulher  resistance,  his  signature  to  the  treaty,  and 
some  days  later,  on  April  _'o,  at  l-'ontainehleau,  in  the  presence  of 
the  foreii^n  commissioner  charjj^ed  with  the  care  of  his  person,  took 
leave  of  his  hrave  armv.  lie  then  threw  himself  into  his  carriage, 
and  set  out  for  the  island  of  h^lha,  which  was  hcstowed  upon  him 
in  full  so\ercignty.  and  whither  he  was  ))receded  hy  a  battalion  of 
his  guard.  He  arrived  at  his  destination  on  May  4  after  a  pain- 
ful journey  through  the  departments  (^f  the  South,  through  the 
midst  of  populations  whom  long  and  cruel  wars  had  exasperated, 
and  who  did  not  spare  the  illustrious  exile  the  insults  he  had  too 
truly  anticipated. 

h>ench  historians  differ  on  the  question  of  the  greatness  of 
Xapoleon.  but  the  estimate  of  the  English  statesman.  Lord  Rose- 
bery,^  may  be  taken  as  an  impartird  criticism.  "  Into  a  career  of 
a  score  of  years,"  he  says,  "  Xapoleon  cr(nvdcd  his  own  da/.zling 
career,  his  conquests,  his  triumphant  assault  on  the  Old  WorUl. 
In  that  brief  space  we  see  the  lean,  hungry  conqueror  swell  into 
the  sovereign,  and  then  into  the  S(n"creign  of  sovereigns.  Then 
comes  the  catastrophe.  lie  loses  the  balance  of  his  judgment  and 
becomes  a  curse  to  his  own  country,  and  to  all  others.  lie  has 
ceased  to  be  sane.  The  intellect  and  energy  are  still  there,  but. 
as  it  were,  in  caricature;  they  ha\-e  Ijccome  monstrosities.  Btxly 
and  mind  are  affected  b}'  the  ])rolongcd  strain  to  l)e  more  than 
mortal,     d'hen  there  is  the  inexilable  colla])se. 

"  There  is  one  question  which  people  ask  about  great  men. 
which  one  cannot  ptit  with  regard  to  Xapoleon,  without  a  sense 
of  incongruity  \\hich  a]:»])roaches  the  grotesf|ue.  Was  Xap(deon 
<a  good  man?  ddie  irresistible  smile  with  which  we  greet  the  (|ucs- 
tion  ])ro\'cs,  we  think,  not  the  pro\-ed  ini(|uil}',  but  the  exceptional 
])ositir)n  of  this  uni(|uc  personality.  Ordinary  measures  and  tests 
do  not  a])pear  to  a])ply  to  him.  We  seem  to  be  trying  to  span  ;i 
mountain  with  a  ta])e.  lUit  that  he  was  great  in  the  sense  of  being 
extraordinary  and  supreme  we  can  have  no  doubt.  If  greatness 
stands  for  natural  ])ower,  for  predominance,  for  something  human 
beyond  humanity,  then  Xapoleon  was  assuredly  great.  Besides 
that  indefmrdile  spark  which  we  call  genius,  he  represents  a  com- 
bination  of    intellect    rmd    energy    which    has   ne\er   perhaps   been 

M.onl  l\(X-cbcry,  "  Napoloui  :  'I'Ik-  Last   Phase." 


352  FRANCE 

1814 

equaled,  never,  certainly,  surpassed.  He  carried  human  faculty 
to  the  farthest  point  of  which  we  have  accurate  knowledge.  Na- 
poleon lived  under  the  modern  microscope.  Under  the  fiercest 
glare  of  scrutiny  he  enlarged  indefinitely  the  limits  of  human  con- 
ception and  human  possibility.  Till  he  had  lived  no  one  could 
realize  that  there  could  be  so  stupendous  a  combination  of  military 
and  civil  genius,  such  comprehension  of  view  united  to  such  grasp 
of  detail,  such  prodigious  vitality  of  body  and  mind.  '  He  con- 
tracts history,'  said  Madame  d'Houdetot,  '  and  expands  imagina- 
tion.' '  He  has  thrown  a  doubt,'  said  Lord  Dudley,  '  on  all  past 
glory;  he  has  made  all  future  renown  impossible.'  This  is  hyper- 
bole, but  with  a  substance  of  truth.  No  name  represents  so  com- 
pletely and  conspicuously  dominion,  splendor,  and  catastrophe.  He 
raised  himself  by  the  use,  and  ruined  himself  by  the  abuse,  of 
superhuman  faculties." 


PART  VI 

A  CENTURY  OF   REVOLUTION.     1814-1910 


Chapter     XXII 

THE    RESTORATION    OE    THE    BOURBONS.     1814-1820 

THIL  head  of  the  royal  house.  Louis  Stanislas  Xaxicr.  whom 
the  senate  called  upon  to  reij^^n  under  the  name  of  Louis 
XVHL,  had  acquired  in  his  youth,  as  Count  of  Provence, 
a  certain  popularity  by  votinjj;-.  in  the  second  assembly  of  the  notables, 
for  the  double  representation  of  the  Third  Instate.  lie  had,  more- 
oxer,  while  in  exile  in  luigland,  resisted  the  rcj)ublic  and  protested 
against  Napoleon  by  claimiiiL^  his  rii^hts  to  the  crown.  Idie  Count 
of  Artois  had  [)rcceded  the  kint^,  his  brother,  and  had  entered  Paris 
on  April  12  with  the  title  of  lieutenant-s^encral  of  the  kini;- 
dom.  The  prince  in\-ited  the  |)ro\"isi()nal  p^oxernmcnt  to  form  his 
council,  to  which  were  added  Marslials  Oudinot  and  Moncey,  and 
General  Dessoles.  This  council,  which  was  named  the  upper  royal 
council,  set  to  work  as  soon  as  it  was  constituted,  and  the  c^ovcrn- 
ment  of  the  Bourbons  commenced.  The  hrst  care  of  the  ])rincc  and 
his  councilors  was  to  afford  some  immediate  relief  to  the  {provinces 
devastated  bv  war,  and  still  occupied  by  the  enemy.  With  t'.iis 
praiseworthy  object,  it  sii^'ned  a  burdensome  conx'cntion,  l)y  which 
iM'ance  undcrt(~)ok  to  surrender  to  the  allied  ])owers,  within  the 
briefest  ])ossil)le  space  of  time,  all  llic  ])laces  which  her  troops  still 
occupied  on  their  sexeral  territories,  with  most  of  the  material  (^f 
war  which  the}-  contained,  in  return  for  the  immediate  release  of 
the  soil  of  I'rance  from  foreign  trooj)S.  This  con\-ention  was  sitjned 
on  April  23.  On  the  follow  in<;-  dav  Louis  Will,  arrixed  at  Calais, 
which  he  entered  amid  the  enthusiastic  acclamations  of  the  populace, 
and  from  which  he  set  out  lor  Paris. 

Jealous  of  his  hereditary  pri\ilec,''es.  the  kin;:^  would  not  ac- 
knowledi^'e  that  the  senate  had  a  rii;ht  to  impose  a  constitution  upon 
him.  I'Uit  ne\erthelc>s.  yielding-  to  the  earnest  re])resentations  of 
the  I'jn]K'ror  Alexander  and  the  adxice  ("if  Talleyrand,  he  preceded 
his  entry  iiUo  his  capital  by  a  celebrated  declaration,  dated  at  Saint- 
Ouen,  by  which  he  guaranteed  to  iMance  the  liberties  promised  bv 
the   senatorial    eonstituticjn.      On    the    following   day.    May   3,    the 


356  F  R  A  N  C  E 

1814 

king,  the  Diichesse  of  Angouleme,  and  most  of  the  princes  of 
the  family  of  the  Bourbons  entered  Paris  in  solemn  procession  and 
received  everywhere  a  warm  reception,  for  the  declaration  of  Saint- 
Ouen  began  a  new  era  for  France.  Reliance  w^as  placed  on  the 
royal  promises  and  the  hearts  of  the  people  w"ere  open  to  hope.  The 
king  confirmed  in  its  attributes  the  consultative  superior  council 
established  by  his  brother  under  the  name  of  the  royal  council,  and 
in  subordination  to  which  another  council,  that  of  the  ministers, 
exercised  the  executive  power.  It  w^as,  however,  soon  perceived 
\vith  anxiety  that  among  the  ministers  w'ere  some  who  were  op- 
posed to  the  liberal  spirit,  and  who  had  been  selected  by  the 
monarch  on  account  of  personal  liking  or  of  services  rendered  before 
the  revolution,  such  as  Dambray,  who  had  been  made  chancellor  of 
France  and  keeper  of  the  seals,  the  Abbe  Montesquiou,  minister  of 
the  interior,  and  the  Count  of  Blacas,  minister  of  the  king's  house- 
hold. General  Dupont  was  minister  of  war,  Talleyrand,  for  foreign 
affairs,  ]\Ialouet,  for  the  naval  department.  Baron  Louis,  of  finance, 
and  Beugnot,  of  police. 

Active  negotiations  for  the  establishment  of  peace  w^ere  imme- 
diately commenced,  and  it  was  concluded  on  May  30,  1814,  by  a 
treaty  signed  at  Paris,  by  wdiich  France  was  restricted,  with  a  few 
trifling  increases  in  territory,  to  the  limits  within  which  she  had  been 
confined  in  1792.  She  had  to  surrender  three  of  her  colonies — 
Santa-Lucia,  Tobago  and  the  Isle  of  France,  and  finally  it  w-as 
agreed  that  the  vessels  constructed  by  order  of  her  government  in 
foreign  parts  should  be  divided  between  herself  and  the  allied 
pow'ers.  Shortly  after  the  signature  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris  the 
French  soil  was  freed  from  the  presence  of  foreign  troops.  On 
June  4  the  king  convoked  the  senate  and  the  legislative  body,  and 
on  the  same  day  in  their  presence  solemnly  bestowed  upon  the 
French  a  constitutional  charter,  which  established  a  representative 
government  composed  of  a  king  and  two  chambers,  one  of  which 
was  made  up  of  peers  nominated  for  life  by  the  monarch,  while  tlie 
other  consisted  of  the  deputies  of  departments.  It  abolished  confis- 
cation and  the  odious  conscription  law,  secured  individual  liberty,  the 
freedom  of  the  press  and  of  public  worship,  the  inviolability  of  prop- 
erty, the  irrevocability  of  the  sales  of  the  national  property,  the  re- 
sponsibility of  the  ministers,  the  annual  voting  of  taxes,  and  the 
payment  of  the  interest  on  the  national  debt,  and  reestablished  tlie 
old  nobility  in  their  rights  while  it  maintained  those  of  the  new. 


RESTORATION  OF  BOURBONS    357 

1814 

Immediately  after  the  charter  had  been  read  the  chancellor  pr<3duccd 
the  decree  whicli  established  the  chamber  of  peers,  which  was 
composed  of  most  of  the  old  senators,  of  the  marshals,  and  a  great 
number  of  dignitaries  of  the  old  court  and  noblesse.  The  promul- 
gation of  this  charter  was  accompanied  by  one  serious  fault.  Tlie 
king  had  refused  to  accept  it  as  a  condition  of  his  elevation  to  the 
throne,  and  had  granted  it  simply  as  an  act  of  his  sovereign  will, 
and  had  dated  it  the  nineteenth  year  of  his  reign.  This  was  to 
ignore  all  that  had  taken  place  in  h'rance  during  twenty-five  years, 
and  to  expose  the  charter  to  peril  by  placing  it  at  the  mercy  of  the 
supreme  power.  The  dangerous  nature  of  the  ground  on  which  the 
monarch  rested  his  power  soon  become  manifest.  A  number  of 
persons  who  had  been  dissatisfied  with  the  return  of  the  Bourbons 
received  the  new  order  of  things  with  distrust,  and  tlie  press,  im- 
placable and  violent,  spread  abroad  alarms  and  threats.  The  jour- 
nals were  subjected  to  a  censorship,  but  while  the  partisans  of  the 
revolution  were  compelled  to  be  careful  how  they  wrote,  the  royalist 
papers  were  pennitted  full  license  of  language,  and  many  intemperate 
articles,  which  were  not  suppressed,  were  attributed  to  the  instiga- 
tion of  the  government.  Louis  XVIII.  also  committed  the  fault  of 
reestablishing,  at  a  great  expense,  the  old  military  appendages  to 
the  royal  household — the  companies  of  household  troops  and  the 
musqueteers,  which  were  composed  of  young  noblemen,  who  were 
all  recognized  as  officers  at  the  commencement  of  their  career,  in 
the  presence  of  an  army  in  whicli  tluring  twenty  years  military  rank 
had  only  been  obtained  at  the  [)rice  of  blood  and  glorious  services. 

Many  decrees  were  issued  which  were  offensive  either  to  the 
army  or  to  the  people.  The  clerical  party  onlered  tlie  police  to 
prevent  any  ccjmmercial  transactions  or  lahcjr  on  Sundays  and  fete 
days,  a  measure  rendered  untimely  and  unpopular  by  the  manner  in 
which  it  was  carried  into  effect.  The  sup])ression  ui  the  concordat 
was  negotiated  at  I\ome,  and  there  seemed  reason  to  fear  that  the 
clergy  would  he  reinstated  in  their  old  pri\ileges.  Many  priests 
thundered  against  the  present  proprietors  of  the  national  property, 
and,  finally,  many  bishops  ojienly  expressed  their  adherence  to  the 
bull  of  l'()i)e  Pius  VI I.,  which  reestablislied  the  order  of  the  Jesuits. 
The  army,  stationed  in  <)bscure  garrisons,  found  itself  dcjirixed  by 
General  Dupont  of  a  multitude  of  oftlcers  who  had  grown  old  in  its 
ranks,  and  who  were  succeeded  by  men  uliose  only  title  to  command 
was  their  birth  or  services  in  foreign  ranks.      Irritation  and  anxietv 


358  FRANCE 

1814 

filled  the  breasts  of  all  whose  interests  allied  them  virtually  with  the 
revolution,  and  they  formed  two  powerful  parties :  the  imperialist 
party,  which  was  supported  by  almost  the  whole  of  the  army,  and  the 
revolutionary  or  republican  party,  which  obtained  the  sympathy  of 
most  of  those  who  were  now  in  possession  of  the  national  property. 
Opposed  to  these  parties  was  a  third  called  the  ultra-royalist  party, 
and  composed  of  most  of  the  old  nobility  and  the  clergy,  which  was 
led  by  Monsieur,  the  king's  brother,  and  which  never  ceased  to  urge 
Louis  XVIII.  to  unpopular  acts,  wdiich  were  as  contrary  to  the 
spirit  of  the  charter  as  to  the  monarch's  personal  inclinations. 
Finally,  a  fourth  party,  named  the  constitutional  party,  consisted  of 
all  those  whose  wishes  and  necessities  were  satisfied  by  the  char- 
ter, such  as  Lafayette,  Royer-Collard,  Lanjuinais,  Carnot,  Benjamin 
Constant,  Madame  de  Stael,  the  Duke  of  Broglie,  Boissy  d'Anglas, 
and  others.  This  party,  which  was  supported  by  the  national  guard 
of  Paris,  was  powerful  among  the  citizens  of  the  chief  cities  and  had 
the  majority  in  the  two  chambers.  The  chambers  assembled  on 
June  4,  Chancellor  Dambray  being  the  president  of  the  chamber  of 
peers,  and  M.  Laine  that  of  the  chamber  of  deputies.  The  financial 
measures  of  Baron  Louis  were  immediately  adopted,  but  their  ex- 
ecution was  accompanied  by  much  suffering,  for  it  was  necessary, 
for  economy's  sake,  to  suppress  a  multitude  of  offices,  and  to  reduce 
to  half-pay  a  number  of  good  officers,  who  overflowed  Paris  and 
moved  its  inhabitants  by  their  complaints  and  their  wretchedness, 
while  extreme  irritation  was  caused  by  the  continuation  of  all,  even 
the  most  vexatious  taxes,  the  suppression  of  which  had  been  either 
promised  or  hoped.  The  censorship  of  books  and  journals  was 
one  of  the  most  serious  cjuestions  discussed  in  the  chamber.  It  was 
temporarily  maintained.  The  attempt  to  restore  to  the  emigrants 
a  portion  of  the  property  confiscated  by  the  state,  but  not  yet  sold, 
raised  a  violent  storm,  not'  so  much  on  account  of  itself  as  on  ac- 
count of  what  it  seemed  to  foreshadow.  The  chamber  did  not  pass 
this  measure  until  it  had  undergone  considerable  modifications,  but 
the  ill-judged  expressions  of  M.  Ferrand,  the  minister  who  had 
introduced  it,  were  regarded  as  the  expressions  of  opinions  of  the 
king  and  his  government  and,  spreading  rapidly  through  France, 
gave  a  fresh  and  unfortunate  activity  to  the  dangerous  hopes  of 
some  and  the  sullen  rage  of  others.  The  public  excitement  was 
great,  and  was  increased  by  many  alarms.  There  was  no  end  of 
rumors  of  conspiracies,  and  a  plot  for  the  restoration  of  the  empire 


REST  O  R  A  T  I  0  N      OF      R  ( )  V  R  R  0  \  S  SVJ 

1814-1815 

was  acliially  frirnicd  1)\'  Siniic  iiiipnideiU  generals.  The  army  was 
the  most  furmidahle  !'•  iCus  of  (hscontent,  and  instead  of  doin<;-  a!! 
in  its  ])()uei-  I'l  attach  it  to  itself,  the  L;n\ernment  was  constant:} 
piittini;'  me.'isuies  iiiin  execntion  which  coiild  not  fail  to  alienate  it. 
The  minister  of  war.  (ieneral  Dnpoiit,  proposed  to  the  chambers  to 
suppress  many  branches  of  the  Hotel  des  linalides.  and  some  es- 
tablishments for  the  education  of  the  children  of  members  of  the 
Lei4"ion  of  Honor,  while  the  g'overnment  at  the  same  time  pensioned 
S(jme  of  the  V'endeans  and  ClKjuans.  Tul)Iic  indignation  was  ex- 
cited by  these  [jrojects.  The  economical  measures  relative  to  the 
Invalides  and  the  orphans  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  were  rejected, 
(ieneral  Dup<jnt  was  obligetl  to  resign,  and  was  succee^led  by  Mar- 
shal Soult.  Shortly  afterwards  the  session  of  the  chambers  was 
cl(_)sed  and  adjourned  to  Ma\'  15.  181  5. 

In  October.  J814,  a  congress  had  l)een  assembled  at  \^ienna. 
for  the  purpose  of  reconstructing  the  map  of  ICurope.  and  was  still 
sitting  at  the  opening  of  the  new  year.  ]'>y  this  it  was  arranged 
that  Prussia  should  ha\e  the  electorate  of  Saxony.  Swedish  I'ome- 
rania,  and  a  great  ])ortion  of  the  territory  l;ctween  the  Rhine  and  the 
Meuse.  Ivussia  ac(|uired  the  grand  ducliv  of  Warsaw,  under  the 
name  (^f  the  kingdom  of  I'oland.  Austria  reco\-ered  Lombardy 
and  all  its  old  j)ovsessions  ()n  the  two  shores  of  the  Adri.atic.  Tus- 
cany was  gi\-en  to  the  Archduke  b'erdinand.  (leutxi  to  the  King  of 
Sardinia,  and  Tarma  to  the  ex-l'ani)ress  Maria  Louisa,  but  onl_\'  for 
her  life.  The  foreign  policy  of  all  the  slates  of  (lermanv  was  ren- 
dered subject  to  the  decisions  of  a  federal  diet,  of  which  Austria 
was  to  ha\'e  the  jKM'petual  ])residency.  Sweden  ol)tained  Xorway. 
while  haigland  retained  the  Cape  of  (iood  Hope,  the  Isle  of  h'rance, 
.Malta  and  Heligoland,  and  exercised  a  ])ri 'tectorate  o\-er  the  banian 
Islands.  1  folland  and  Leigium  were  united  into  the  kingdom  of  the 
Xetherlands  under  the  rule  of  the  House  of  Orange.  In  ItaK'  the 
Legations  were  secured  to  the  i'ope.  while  in  Switzerland,  which 
was  declared  neutral  territory,  the  congress  maintained  the  state 
of  things  which  had  been  establi>hed  b\-  the  .\ct  of  Mediatit)n  of 
j.Sc)^.  and  raised  the  total  luimber  of  cantons  to  twenty-two.  Talley- 
rand, who  rej)resented  hfance,  further  insisted  that  Xai)oleon  should 
be  remo\-e(l  to  a  greater  distance  than  bdb.a  and  that  Murat  should 
be  dethroned.  This  led  Murat  to  seek'  a  reconciliation  with  Xapo- 
leon.  whom  he  invited  to  ltal_\'  and  to  whom  he  promised  power- 
ful support,     Siadi  was  in  Lebruary,  1815,.  the  general  position  of 


360  FRANCE 

1815 

Europe,  \vhen  an  astounding-  event  suddenly  startled  it  throughout 
its  length  and  breadth.  This  was  nothing  less  than  the  escape  of 
Napoleon  from  Elba  and  his  disembarkation  on  j\larch  i,  in  the 
Gulf  of  Juan,  between  Cannes  and  x\ntibes,  with  eleven  hundred 
men,  four  pieces  of  cannon,  and  three  generals,  Bertrand,  Drouot 
and  Cambronne. 

The  news  of  his  landing  spread  around  Louis  XVIII.  terror 
and  consternation.  The  king  convoked  the  two  chambers  and 
the  Count  of  Artois,  with  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  was  ordered  to  ad- 
vance with  troops  upon  Lyons  in  concert  with  Marshal  Macdonald. 
Ney  accepted  the  command  of  the  troops  spread  over  Franche- 
Comte,  and  took  an  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  king.  The  Duke  of 
Feltre  replaced  Marshal  Soult  as  minister  of  war,  and  a  royal  de- 
cree declared  Napoleon  Bonaparte  a  traitor  and  a  rebel,  and  enjoined 
all  Frenchmen  to  treat  him  as  such. 

In  the  meantime  Napoleon  was  on  his  way  to  Paris.  A  first 
attempt  made  on  the  garrison  of  Antibes  had  failed,  and  for  some 
days  he  advanced  without  encountering  any  troops  either  friendly 
or  hostile.  It  was  resolved  by  the  authorities  in  the  south,  who 
appeared  to  be  struck  with  stupor  at  Napoleon's  landing,  and  in- 
capable of  acting  with  energy,  that  Grenoble  should  be  defended, 
and  all  the  disposable  troops  in  Dauphine  were  concentrated  there. 
A  detachment  commanded  by  a  resolute  officer  named  Lessard  was 
sent  some  leagues  beyond  Grenoble  to  destroy  the  bridge  of  Pon- 
thaut,  and  having  met  on  March  7,  with  the  imperial  advanced 
guard  under  Cambronne  on  the  ]\Iure,  prepared  to  dispute  his  ad- 
vance. However,  on  an  impassioned  appeal  from  Napoleon,  the 
cry  of  "  I'^ivc  Vcmpcreur! "  was  raised  by  Lessard's  men,  and  was 
a  thousand  times  repeated.  The  two  bodies  of  troops  fraternized 
and  marched  together  to  Grenoble.  Soon  afterwards,  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Vizille,  Colonel  la  Bedoyere  hastened  up  with  his 
regiment  to  join  Bonaparte,  whom  the  unfortunate  young  man 
almost  worshiped.  Grenoble  and  Lyons  opened  their  gates  in  suc- 
cession ;  the  soldiers  everywhere  responded  to  the  appeal  of  their  old 
general ;  Ney's  corps  followed  this  example,  and  Ney  himself  was 
induced  to  do  the  same.  Napoleon  embraced  him  and  continued 
his  march  towards  Paris.  As  Napoleon  was  approaching,  Louis 
XV II I.  held  a  review  in  Paris,  but  the  troops  would  not  respond  to 
the  cry  of  "  Vive  Ic  roi!  "  The  monarch  understood  this  silence, 
and,  yielding  to  the  force  of  necessity,  he  precipitately  quitted  his 


R  !•:  S  r  ( )  R  A  T  I  O  \     O  I'     R  O  T^  R  R  ()  \  S  ;3f)l 

1815 

palace  on  the  iii'.;1it  i>f  Afarcli  K).  On  (lie  cvcnincr  of  Marcli 
20  Napoleon  reentered  the  ca])ital,  without  liavini^  fired  a  single  . 
shot.  He  had  made  known  h\<  acceptance  (^f  the  Treaty  of  Paris, 
and  had  protested  his  intention  of  keepinj:^  the  peace,  but  his  couriers 
were  arrested  on  the  froiuici-s,  the  allied  sovereii^ns  placed  no  re- 
h'ance  on  his  assurances,  and  Ijy  a  fresh  treaty,  signed  on  March  23. 
renewed  among  themselves  the  alliance  of  Chaumont.  The  Congress 
of  Vienna  declared  Napoleon  to  be  out  of  the  pale  of  public  and  so- 
cial law,  and  from  seven  to  nine  hundred  thousand  men  were  i)re- 
paring  once  more  to  pour  dinvn  upon  b^rance.  It  was  necessary, 
therefore,  that  NajiokN-n.  if  he  were  to  reign,  should  receive  from 
the  hands  of  victory  fresh  and  bloody  consecration. 

The  first  inijierial  decrees,  dated  at  Lyons,  v.ere  energetic. 
They  declared  the  chambers  (^f  Louis  NX'III.  dissolved,  convoked 
the  electoral  colleges  in  an  extraordinary  assembly  for  tlie  purp(\se 
of  modifying  the  constitution  of  the  empire  in  the  interests  of  the 
])eople,  abolished  the  old  nobility,  and  declared  all  the  property  of 
the  Rourbons  se((uestrated.  Na}:)oleon  admitted  into  his  coimcil  the 
celebrated  conventionist,  Carnot.  as  minister  of  the  interior,  and  aj)- 
l)ointed  b'ouche,  Duke  of  Otranto.  minister  of  ])olice.  b^inally  he 
requested  the  celebrated  publicist.  I'enjamin  Constant,  to  draw  up  an 
"Additional  Act  to  the  constitutions  of  tlie  em])ire."  which  created, 
in  the  first  place,  tw)  legislative  chambers,  those  of  the  ]K'ers  and  the 
representatives,  the  first  hereditary,  nominated  by  the  em])eror,  and 
the  second  e]ccti\e,  while  the  other  clauses  of  this  act  were  tran- 
scripts of  the  principal  portions  of  the  ch.arter  of  Louis  NX'lll. 
Napoleon  submitted  it  to  the  pecjple  for  acceptance,  and  a  million 
consented  to  it,  while  four  thousand  ventiu'ed  to  reject  it.  'fhe 
emperor  swore  to  keep  inviolate  this  new  constitution  in  a  solemn 
assembly  of  the  electoral  colleges  on  the  Champ  de  Mai,  where  the 
eagles  were  distributed  among  the  regiments,  and  where  Napoleon 
a])peare(l  with  all  the  i)omp  of  the  empire.  Military  measin-cs  now 
occupied  Napoleon's  whole  attention.  The  south  seemed  (piiet  ;  the 
I3uke  of  yVngouleme  had  made  a  ra])id  and  perilous  campaign  on  the 
Rhone,  but  soon,  abandoned  by  his  troops,  he  had  found  hiinself 
surrounded  and  made  a  [)risoner,  and  having  been  set  at  liberty  by 
the  emperor's  orders  he  had  left  brance.  The  X'endee  was  in  a 
state  ()f  insurrecti(Mi,  and.  although  kept  in  check  by  General  La- 
marque,  it  coni])c]led  Najioleon  to  detach  twenty  thousand  men  to 
occupy  and  reduce  it.     In  the  meantime  the  imprudent  Murat  had 


362 


FRANCE 


1815 


attacked  the  Austrians  at  Tolentino,  lost  his  army  and  his  crown, 
and  now  wandered  about  a  fugitive,  while  his  vancjuishers  replaced 
the  Bourbons  on  the  throne  of  the  Two  Sicilies.  All  Europe  was 
now  advancing  with  menacing  front;  the  English  under  Wellington, 
and  the  Prussians  under  Bliicher,  occupied  Belgium ;  the  whole  of 
Germany  rose  against  Napoleon  with  enthusiasm,  and  behind  it 
the  Russian  columns  were  already  in  motion. 

Napoleon  again  collected  within  a  few  days  an  army  of  two 
hundred  thousand  men.  Of  this  number  a  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  thousand  were  marched  upon  Belgium.  On  June  12, 
18 1 5,  he  set  out  in  person  for  his  army,  to  give  battle  to  Wellington 


i 

svxc^-^ 

^  _py.                                 /rT^^^cnd, 

jx 

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yOV-/-              Gh«n* 

j^    ^A 

^0^ 

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JXalait   \    >  >        ;                  ^   fj^  G   I 

TO-    hf          i 

JSrassela^ 

i               ° 

5  rJ^^  I 

/Ht.^tJian 

r 

BATTLE 

Nivelltio 

QuatrlBzas 

or 

CharJeroj 

^'"■'\                             / 

\. 

WATERLOO ( 

V^       c«i^^^                     / 

1 

and  Bliicher,  who  were  at  the  head  of  about  ninety  thousand  men 
each.  On  the  16th  he  succeeded,  by  means  of  a  rapid  and  secret 
march,  in  surprising  the  Prussians  near  the  village  of  Ligny  and 
defeating  them  after  an  obstinate  and  bloody  battle.  On  the  same 
day,  at  a  few  leagues'  distance,  another  battle  took  place  at  the  farm 
of  (Juatre-Bras,  on  the  road  from  Charleroi  to  Brussels,  between  a 
portion  of  the  English  forces  and  the  French  troops  under  Ney, 
in  which  the  English  held  their  positions.  Grouchy,  having  been 
detached  and  sent  in  pursuit  of  the  Prussians,  Napoleon  followed 
Wellington  in  the  direction  of  Brussels,  and  on  the  evening  of  the 
17th  came  up  with  him  at  Waterloo.  The  English  army  was  partly 
hidden  from  the  French  bv  the  undulations  of  the  ground  on  the 
other  side  of  a  hill,  but  at  night  the  bivouac  fires  showed  the  wliole 


K  E  S  T  0  11  A  T  I  O  \     0  F     B  O  U  R  B  ()  N  S  JiG'J 

1815 

extent  of  its  position,  and  o^ave  Napoleon  reason  to  liope  that  lie 
niig-ht  tight  it  on  the  morrow  before  the  i'russians,  whom  he-  be- 
Heved  io  be  held  in  check  by  (Irouchy,  should  have  time  to  join  it. 

The  higli  road  of  Charleroi.  traversing  the  forest  of  Charlcroi, 
divided  the  plateau  of  Mont  Saint-Jean  and  the  valley  which  sep- 
arated the  two  armies.  A  little  in  the  rear  <^i  the  luiglish.  and  at 
the  very  extreme  of  the  forest,  stood  the  village  of  Waterloo,  which 
was  to  give  its  name  to  the  disastrous  battle  of  the  morrow.  Wel- 
lington had  \ery  skillfully  [)osied  his  army  on  the  jjlatcau  on  eacli 
side  of  the  Brussels  road.  Trusting  in  the  speedy  .arri\al  of  the 
Prussians  on  his  left,  he  had  concentrated  the  bulk  of  his  forces  on 
his  right  autl  center,  and  had  occui)ied  with  a  few  battalions  the 
Chateau  of  llougomont  and  the  farms  of  La  1  la}e-Sainte  and 
i*ai)elotte.  wdiich  were  in  fri)rit  of  his  position,  and  which,  being 
sma-oundcd  by  orchards  and  woods,  formed  excellent  natural  de- 
fenses. The  whole  hVench  army  was  deployed  in  a  fan-shai)e.  in 
three  lines,  in  front  of  the  l-aiglish  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  of  Mont 
Saint-Jean.  Xey  commanded  the  llrst  line,  of  which  Reille's  corps 
occupied  the  left,  supptjrtetl  l)y  Kellermann's  cuirassiers,  while 
Krlon  was  on  the  right,  having  behind  him  the  division  of  the 
cuirassiers  under  Milhaud.  Lobau's  corps,  on  the  second  line, 
formed  a  reser\-e  at  the  center.  The  infantry  and  all  the  cavalry  of 
the  guard,  posted  on  each  side  of  the  Brussels  road,  formed  a  third 
line,  which  was  less  in  extent,  but  deeper  than  the  two  others.  The 
battle  Commenced  by  imj)etuous  assaults  on  the  advanced  works 
which  covered  the  right  wing  of  the  h^nglish.  It  was  a  feint,  to 
draw  the  attenticju  of  Wellington  fr(tm  the  main  attack  to  be  made 
ujjon  the  left  wing.  The  wood  of  llougomont,  on  the  left,  was 
hrst  of  all  carried  by  Cicneral  Reille,  autl  tles[)crate  coutlicts  took 
l)!ace  arountl  La  1  laye-Sainte,  which  was  many  times  taken  and  i"e- 
taken,  while  the  Count  oi  l^rlou's  inf.antry  attacked  the  luiglish  left. 
At  last  Xey  carried  and  held  J-a  llaye-Saintc.  and.  excited  by  this 
success,  asked  of  the  emperor  reinforcements,  to  enable  him  to  make 
a  decisixe  assault  on  the  plateau  itself.  Ihit  bef<»re  Xa])oleon  couUl 
assist  \c'\-  on  his  left,  it  was  necessary  that  he  slu)uld  coxcr  and 
fortifv  his  right  against  a  portion  of  the  Trussian  armv  under 
lUilow.  which  was  adwancing  to  join  the  Lnglisli  left  at  Monl  .Saint- 
jean.  Lobau">  cori)S,  which  was  \ery  infeiaor  in  numljcrs,  was 
ordered  to  check-  the  advance  of  the  I'mssians.  The  enijieror. 
howe\er.  granted  to  Xey  the  eight  regimenls  ;,if  Milhaud's  cuiras- 


364  FRANCE 

1815 

siers,  although  at  the  same  time  he  ordered  him  to  await  his  own 
(hrections  before  risking  an  attack.  Tliese  fine  regiments  advanced 
to  occupy  the  new  position  which  had  been  assigned  to  them  and 
drew  along  with  them,  in  consequence  of  an  unfortunate  error, 
the  whole  of  the  cavalry  of  the  guard.  Ney,  on  perceiving  this 
enormous  and  splendid  mass  of  cavalry  at  his  disposal,  and  seeing 
sixty  pieces  of  English  artillery  ill  protected  before  him,  anticipated 
the  emperor's  orders,  took  the  cannon,  fell  like  a  tempest  on  many 
squares  of  English  infantry,  and  destroyed  them.  Then,  taking 
with  him,  in  spite  of  the  remonstrances  of  their  commander,  Keller- 
mann's  cuirassiers  and  the  last  squadrons  of  reserve,  he  commanded 
and  led  eleven  furious  charges  against  the  new  squares  of  the  enemy. 
He  found  before  him  living  walls,  which  fell,  half-destroyed,  but 
which  he  could  not  drive  back.  Wellington  remained  firm  at  the 
head  of  the  third  line,  and  opposed  a  calm  and  admirable  tenacity 
to  Ney's  feverish  impetuosity.  Infantry  was  necessary  to  Ney  to 
enable  him  to  hold  his  ground,  and  he  urgently  demanded  it,  but  the 
Prussian  corps  of  Biilow  employed  on  the  right  all  the  infantry 
which  Napoleon  still  possessed,  with  the  exception  of  some  battal- 
ions of  his  guard.  Napoleon  deplored  the  rashness  of  Ney  as 
much  as  the  absence  of  Grouchy,  who  had  gone  in  pursuit  of  the 
Prussians  in  the  wrong  direction,  but  as  the  audacity  of  despair  was 
now  prudence,  he  himself  sent  these  heroic  battalions,  his  sole  re- 
serve, to  the  plateau  on  which  Ney  was  in  peril  and  thus  made  a  final 
effort  to  obtain  the  victory.  At  this  moment  fresh  Prussian  col- 
umns debouched  on  the  right,  Bliicher,  who  had  concealed  his 
movements  from  Grouchy,  led  them  in  person.  His  innumerable 
cavalry  overflowed  the  plain  and  the  sides  of  the  hill,  the  theater  of 
this  frightful  struggle,  and  rendered  the  emperor's  charge  impossi- 
ble. Wellington  now  took  the  offensive  in  his  turn.  His  third 
line,  which  was  intact,  was  set  in  motion,  and  charged  and  overthrew 
the  remains  of  the  corps  of  Reille  and  Erlon,  and  of  the  Erench 
cavalry,  which  was  now  but  an  unformed  and  confused  mass.  Thus 
ended  this  frightful  battle,  which  was  the  catastrophe  of  the  first 
empire,  and  in  which  sixty  thousand  men,  killed  or  wounded,  were 
stretched  upon  the  field. 

Napoleon,  who  was  forced  from  the  field  by  his  staff  when  all 
was  over,  named  the  city  of  Laon  as  the  rallying  point  of  the  remains 
of  the  army,  and  then  hastened  to  Paris  to  take  measures  for  de- 
fending the  Erench  territory  against  the  allies.      The  end  was  now 


RESTORATION  OF  BOURBONS    305 

1815 

at  hand.  The  chanil)cr  of  jjccrs  and  llic  chamber  of  deputies,  se- 
cretly instigated  by  I'\mchc,  expressed  a  wish  that  the  emperor 
should  abdicate,  and  threatened,  in  case  he  should  refuse,  to  decree 
his  dethronement.  Xafioleon  saw  his  friends  themsehes  in  a  state 
of  consternati(^n  and  signed  a  second  al)dication  in  faxor  of  his 
son.  The  chamber  accepted  ilie  act  of  abdication,  ])Ut  nevertheless 
avoided  declaring  tlie!nsel\es  in  anv  ab<i  ilntc  maimer  for  Xapoleon 
II.,  and  formed  a  government  composed  of  the  ministers  Carnot 
and  Fouche.  Generals  Caulaincourt  and  ( n-enier.  and  the  old  conven- 
tionist  Oninette.  hV)nche.  who  had  betrayed  the  emperor,  was  ap- 
pointed president  of  this  provisional  government.  Xapoleon 
c[uitted  Paris,  and  resigning  lu'mself  to  the  necessity  of  leavhig 
hTance,  |)roceeded  towards  Rochefort.  under  the  ])rotcction  of 
General  Becker.  But  as  the  hjiglish  cruisers  blockaded  the  port, 
and  there  appeared  no  chance  that  Xapoleon  \V(^nld  be  able  to  escape 
them,  he  determined  to  surrender  himself  to  the  hjiglish  government, 
and  then  embarked  with  his  suite  on  board  the  lingiish  vessel,  the 
BcUcrophon.  Soon  afterwards  orders  were  sent  to  conduct  him  to 
Saint  Helena,  and  he  was  almost  immediately  conveyed,  for  the 
repose  of  the  world,  to  the  rock  which  w;is  to  be  his  prison  and  his 
tomb. 

A  French  army,  consisting  of  eighty  thousand  men  and  three 
hundred  ])ieces  of  caniidU,  had  been  collected  under  the  walls  of 
Paris,  and  the  restoration  of  the  Pxnu'bons  nn'ght  still  ha\e  been 
disputed,  b'illed  with  the  idea,  howex-er.  o\  the  fate  to  which  a 
fresh  rexersc  luigiu  subject  the  cipital  of  h'rance.  tlie  chambers  and 
the  head  of  the  guNcrnment  judged  it  luore  prudent  to  negotiate 
than  to  fight,  and  on  July  3  a  c;i|)itulation  dr  miiitarv  con\ention  was 
signed  at  Saint  Cloud  by  three  ciimmis^i' lUcrs.  in  the  name  of  the 
provisional  go\crnmcnt  and  by  Wellington  and  Blucher.  the  gen- 
erals in  Command  of  the  I'.ngiish  and  I'liissian  forces.  I'y  this  con- 
vention it  was  agrt'cd  that  the  [''rench  army  slmuld  evacuate  Paris 
and  retire  behind  the  I>nire,  that  pri\ate  and  ])ublic  jiropertv  should 
be  respectetl,  and  that  tiie  inhabitants  of  the  city  at  the  time  oi  its 
capitulation  should  be  in  no  wav  disturbed  or  amioved  in  resjiect 
to  their  alTairs.  their  conduct  or  their  ])olitical  (^pinions.  On  )ul\' 
8  the  king  once  more  entered  Paris.  d'alleyrand  was  made 
president  of  the  new  ministry,  and  I'ouche,  who  had  greatly  con- 
duced to  the  return  of  Louis  XV'IIl..  was  rewarded  by  a  place 
in  the  council  and  the  portfolio  cjf  [)olice.      Two  lists  of  proscribed 


366  FRANCE 

1815 

persons  were  immediately  drawn  up  and  published  in  a  celebrated 
decree  dated  July  24.  Carnot  was  among  them,  and  Fouche,  his 
colleague  in  the  ministry  of  the  hundred  days,  signed  the  lists  of 
proscription.  The  Prussian  troops  had  entered  the  capital  before 
the  king,  and  their  angry  bearing  gave  reason  to  believe  that  they 
imagined  that  this  time  they  had  entered  it  less  by  virtue  of  a  treaty 
than  by  right  of  conquest.  They  especially  regarded  with  ferocious 
looks  the  monuments  which  were  the  trophies  of  the  French  vic- 
tories, and  it  required  a  noble  resistance  on  the  part  of  Louis  XVIII. 
to  preserve  the  bridge  of  Jena  from  their  revengeful  violence.  Tn 
spite  of  the  capitulation  the  museums  were  forced  to  give  up  the  art 
treasures  that  had  been  brought  to  Paris  as  the  results  of  Napoleon's 
victories;  every  state,  every  city  in  Europe,  demanded  the  restora- 
tion of  the  pictures  and  statues  of  which  they  had  been  despoiled. 

The  army  of  the  Loire  was  disbanded  and  Gouvion  Saint-Cyr, 
the  minister  of  war,  then  planned  the  creation  of  a  new  army.  It 
was  at  this  period  that  the  organization  of  the  royal  guard  took 
place.  The  composition  of  the  chambers  underwent  important 
modifications.  The  peerage,  which  in  1814  was  hereditary  or  for 
life  according  to  the  will  of  the  monarch,  was  rendered,  in  August, 
181 5,  entirely  hereditary.  Many  peers  of  the  first  restoration  who 
had  sat  during  the  hundred  days  were  deprived  of  their  positions 
and  the  king  nominated  ninety-four  new  ones.  A  decree,  dated  July 
13,  submitted  many  articles  of  the  charter  to  the  revision  of  the 
legislative  power  and  ordered  the  election  of  a  new  chamber  of 
deputies  on  August  14.  Most  of  the  members  that  were  then  elected 
belonged  to  the  class  called  ultra-royalist,  and  joined  the  chamber  not 
only  with  ideas  most  hostile  to  the  revolution,  but  also  with  a  desire 
for  vengeance,  and  with  the  confidence,  too  often  rash,  inspired  by 
victory  after  a  cruel  defeat.  It  was  now  that  the  inextricable  dif- 
ficulties in  which  the  government  of  the  restoration  was  involved 
became  manifest.  In  the  chamber  there  were  now  two  clearly 
defined  ]:)arties,  the  royalists,  who  sought  to  extend  the  influence  of 
the  aristocracy  and  the  clergy,  basing  their  political  system  on  tra- 
dition and  facts  consecrated  l)y  time;  and  the  liberals,  who  aimed  at 
bestowing  upon  the  greatest  possible  number  of  men  the  social 
advantages  and  rights  which  had  formerly  only  belonged  to  a 
limited  number  of  privileged  individuals,  regarding  liberty  as  the 
natural  ])()ssession  of  human  nature.  Tliese  were  the  views  of  tlie 
moderate  men  of  each  party,  but  attached  to  each  were  found  many 


RESTOUATIOX     OF     BO  U  II  RONS  307 

1815 

who  carried  llicm  to  an  extreme  that  was  ahke  objectionahle,  im- 
prudent and  e\cn  unsafe,  'i'he  stru^-^ie  between  the  tw(j  panics 
lasted  fifteen  years,  and  commenced  in  1S15.  ICacli  ap])ea]ed  to 
what  was  obscure  and  ill-defined  in  the  charter,  eitlier  witli  the  ob- 
ject of  destroyiiiLC  it  or  of  exacting-  fmm  it  more  than  it  reahy  prom- 
ise(h  ddie  royalists  at  lu'st  had  the  advantai^c.  It  was  diihcult  for 
'J'allevrand  to  nic'iintain  his  pcxsition  before  a  chamber  filled  with  the 
resentments  of  tlie  hundred  days,  and  the  Duke  of  Richelieu  was 
ordered  io  form  a  new  cabinet. 

This  statesman,  who  was  jjresident  of  the  council  and  minister 
for  foreic^n  affairs,  selected  as  his  colleai^ues  Barbe-AIarbois,  as 
minister  of  justice,  \'aul)lanc  and  sul)se(iuently  Laine.  <as  min- 
ister of  the  iiUerior,  Dubouchage,  as  minister  of  marine,  and 
Corvetto,  as  minister  of  linance.  The  direction  of  the  police  was 
entrusted  to  Decazes,  and  Clarke,  Duke  of  heltre,  was  for  some 
time  minister  of  war,  beinc^-  succeeded  by  (iou\ion  Saint-C'yr.  Idie 
first  act  of  the  Duke  of  Richelieu  was  to  hasten  the  conclusion  of  the 
treaty  which  finally  defined  the  burdens  and  s;icrilices  which  the 
allies  imposed  on  hVance.  Their  demands  were  reduced  to  five 
heads:  ist,  th.e  cession  of  the  territory  comprisini;-  the  fortresses 
of  Philippeville,  Alaricnburg',  Sarrelouis  and  Landau;  2i\,  the  dem- 
olition of  the  fortifications  of  Ihmninc^en;  3d,  tlie  payment  of  an 
indemnity  of  seven  hundred  millions,  without  j)reju(lice  to  tlie  debts 
due  fr(jm  the  J'^rench  ^-overnmcnt  to  the  pri\atc  persons  n\  all  the 
states  in  luirope  ;  4th,  tl;e  restoration  of  the  dei)artmcnt  of  Mont 
IManc  to  the  King-  of  Sardinia  :  5th.  the  ixTupation  for  between  three 
and  fi\e  \c;irs,  if  the  allies  should  tiniik  lit,  oi"  a  line  along  the  i""rencli 
frontiei'.-.  b_\-  an  army  of  a  hundred  and  fifi_\-  ih<nisanil  men.  to  be 
supi)orted  by  krance.  'idle  treaty  was  signed  on  Xowniber  20, 
iS[5.  'fliese  were  not  the  only  e\ils  which  krance  had  to  >urfer  in 
con:.ef|uence  of  the  disasirous  e\cnts  of  tlic  hundred  days.  Sex'cral 
(le[)artments  of  the  south  were  loui^'  a  pre\-  to  civil  war  and  a  blocnh- 
anarch}-,  and  this  fatal  period  was  al>o  di>!iiiguished  ])\  some  horri- 
ble assassinations.  'I  he  session  was  ojicncd  on  ()ctol)cr  7,  and  the 
chamber  of  (le])Utie-^  L;'a\e  a  tree  \ent  to  its  xii'lcnt  and  reactionary 
passions.  It  demanded  exceptional  laws,  which  were  adopted.  ( )ne 
of  these  su^])ended  indi\idual  liberty,  a.nother  ptmished  seditious 
crimes  witli  transportation,  and  a  third  subjected  periodical  publi- 
caticjns  to  the  censorship.  A  \ote  of  rmmestv  wa>  indeed  fina!]\- 
passed,  but  the  regicides  were  exchuled   from  ii,  and  all   were  con- 


368  FRANCE 

1815 

demned  to  perpetual  banishment  who  had  signed  the  "Additional 
Act,"  or  who  had  been  employed  by  the  government  of  the  hundred 
days.  This  measure  touched  Fouche  himself,  who  was  then  the 
French  ambassador  at  Dresden,  and  who  died  in  exile.  Bloody 
executions  preceded  the  passing  of  this  vote  of  amnesty.  The  young 
La  Bedoyere  was  the  first  victim,  and  after  him  Ney  was  condemned 
to  death  and  executed.-^  Lavalette,  director-general  of  the  posts  dur- 
ing the  hundred  days,  only  escaped  capital  punishment  through  the 
devotion  of  his  wife  and  the  aid  of  three  generous  Englishmen,  who 
favored  his  escape;  and  in  course  of  the  year  many  others  who 
had  been  mentioned  in  the  decree  of  July  24  were  arrested,  and 
tried,  and  executed. 

The  chamber,  amid  all  this  bloodshed,  continued  to  advance 
towards  the  achievement  of  its  objects,  which  were,  first,  the  rees- 
tablishment  of  legitimate  royalty  on  .its  old  basis;  second,  the  forma- 
tion of  local  independent  administrations,  so  organized  as  to  give 
great  influence  to  the  territorial  and  ecclesiastical  interests;  third, 
the  creation  by  law  of  the  powerful  territorial  aristocracy;  fourth, 
the  reestablishment,  financially  and  politically,  of  the  French  clergy. 
In  spite  of  a  formal  engagement  entered  into  by  the  king  in  the 
previous  year,  it  proceeded  to  deprive  the  state  creditors  of  the 
best  guarantee  for  the  payment  of  their  debts,  by  declaring  that 
the  state  forests  should  not  be  alienated,  and  that  the  church  should 
recover  possession  of  the  property  not  yet  sold  which  had  belonged 
to  the  old  clergy  of  France.  The  law  of  divorce  was  abolished ;  the 
clergy  were  authorized  to  accept  every  species  of  gift,  and  finally, 
it  was  proposed  to  place  the  university  under  the  superintendence 
of  the  bishops  and  to  bestow  the  civil  registrarships  upon  the  parish 
priests.  The  prudent  resistance  which  the  king  opposed  to  the 
hastiness  of  the  elective  chamber  was  odious  to  the  members  of  the 
majority.  They  openly  accused  him  of  revolutionary  tendencies, 
boasted  that  they  were  more  royalist  than  himself,  and  leagued 
themselves  with  the  members  of  his  own  family  for  the  purpose  of 
opposing  and  frustrating  his  wishes. 

The  king  had  announced,  on  his  return  from  Ghent,  that  thir- 
teen articles  of  the  charter  would  be  submitted  for  revision,  and  it 
was  evident  that  the  chamber  intended  to  make  this  a  pretext  for 

1  It  is  claimed,  with  considerable  show  of  evidence,  that  Ney  was  not  really 
shot,  but  was  allowed  to  escape,  and  died  some  years  afterwards  in  the  United 
States. 


RESTORATION  OF  BOURBONS    369 

1815-1818 

annihilating  the  charter  altogether.  The  Guint  of  Artois  and  his 
friends,  who  accused  the  king's  government  of  being  too  hberal  in 
1 8 14,  shaped  the  course  pursued  by  the  chamber  in  1815,  and  by  the 
measures  wliicli  were  proposed  and  carried  at  their  instigation, 
France  now  found  herself  pursuing  a  course  contrary  to  her  new 
institutions  and  the  representative  monarchy  was  itself  in  peril. 
Listening,  therefore,  to  the  suggestions  of  his  own  reason,  and  the 
earnest  advice  of  the  ministers,  Richelieu,  Decazes  and  Laine,  Louis 
XVin.  issued  the  famous  decree  of  September  5,  which  dissolved 
the  chamber  of  deputies,  fixed,  according  to  the  text  of  the  consti- 
tution, the  number  of  deputies  at  two  hundred  and  fifty-eight,  and 
declared  that  no  article  of  the  charter  should  be  revised.  The  com- 
mand of  the  national  guard  was  taken  from  the  Count  of  Artois, 
and  the  result  of  the  new  election  was  such  as  answered  the  hopes 
of  the  ministry. 

In  the  meantime  the  miseries  of  the  country  were  at  their 
height.  Famine  desolated  h^-ance,  oppressed  by  foreign  troops, 
overburdened  by  ruinous  charges  and  torn  by  domestic  factions. 
The  continual  rains  of  1S16  inundated  the  plains,  destroying  the 
hopes  of  the  farmers,  and  spreading  contagious  diseases  among  the 
cattle. 

Some  political  laws  were  adopted  in  the  course  of  this  session, 
and  one  of  tliem  fixed  certain  prudent  limits  to  the  law  passed  in  the 
previous  session,  which  suspended  individual  liberty.  But  the  most 
important  legislative  act  of  181 7  was  the  h^dectoral  Law,  which,  for 
the  first  time  since  the  restoration,  sancticuied  a  legal  course  in  the 
nomination  of  deputies.  It  established  direct  elections,  and  fixed 
the  (lualification  of  electors  at  three  hundred  francs,  and  of  th()se 
eligible  fi»r  election  at  a  thousand  francs;  the  chamber  was  to  be  re- 
newed by  fifths.  Tlie  discussion  of  the  budget  was  stormy,  and  the 
g(nernment,  in  spite  of  Considerable  opposition,  transferred  to  the 
sinking  fund  the  150,000  hectares  (u*  woods  which  a  previous  ma- 
jority had  given  to  the  clergy,  h^jur  millions  of  rents  only,  secured 
by  the  old  property  of  the  church,  whicii  still  remained  unsold,  were 
voted  for  the  clergy  as  an  indemnity  for  what  they  had  lost.  The 
chamber  of  ]:)ecrs  ratilicd  this  plan;  and  two  days  later,  on  iMarch 
26,  1817,  the  session  was  closed. 

Laws  of  great  imi)ortance  were  introduced  in  the  session  of 
1817-1818,  with  the  view  of  reestablishing  the  army  on  a  re>])ectablc 
footing.     Although  the  law  of  consoi-ii)lion  had  been  abolished  by 


370  FRANCE 

1818 

the  charter,  it  was  restored,  though  in  a  milder  form  than  that  in 
which  it  had  been  enforced  under  the  empire,  and  the  king  was  de- 
prived of  the  unhmited  power  of  granting  commissions,  wliile  pro- 
motion was  to  be  greatly  dependent  on  seniority.  Individual  liberty 
ceased  to  be  suspended,  but  the  periodical  press  remained  subject 
to  the  censorship.  The  illustrious  head  of  the  cabinet,  the  Duke 
of  Richelieu,  deserved  well  of  his  country  at  this  time,  by  success- 
fully employing  his  influence  with  Alexander  and  his  allies  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  the  prompt  withdrawal  of  the  foreign  troops 
from  the  French  soil. 

Thanks  to  him,  the  Emperor  Alexander  and  his  allies,  as- 
sembled in  conference  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  consented  to  evacuate  the 
French  fortresses  and  to  recall  their  armies,  and  two  billions  of 
bonds  inscribed  in  the  great  book  of  the  public  debt  sufficed  to 
liquidate  the  debt  which  France  owed  abroad.  Shortly  after  this 
great  event,  which  distinguished  the  year  1818,  Richelieu  gave  in 
his  resignation.  Alarmed  at  the  result  of  the  last  elections,  which 
were  for  the  most  part  in  favor  of  the  liberals,  he  had  expressed  a 
desire  that  the  ministry  should  form  an  alliance  with  the  extreme 
section  of  the  royalist  party,  and  that  the  law  of  elections  should  be 
modified.  Flis  wishes  in  this  respect  were  not  shared  by  some  oth- 
ers of  his  colleagues,  and  as  the  chamber  of  deputies  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  new  session  had  declared  itself  energetically  in 
its  address  to  the  king  against  any  modification  of  the  electoral  law, 
the  retirement  of  the  president  of  the  council  was  decided.  The 
chamber  of  peers,  however,  voted  a  resolution  in  favor  of  a  change 
in  the  Electoral  Law,  which  was  vehemently  opposed  by  the  minis- 
ters and  Royer-Collard,  and  rejected  by  the  deputies.  The  conflict 
between  the  two  chambers  became  day  by  day  more  virulent,  and  it 
appeared  urgently  necessary  either  to  dissolve  the  chamber  of  depu- 
ties or  to  modify  the  votes  of  the  chamber  of  peers.  Several  mem- 
bers of  the  cabinet,  Laine,  ]\Iole,  Pasquier,  and  Roy,  who  had 
replaced  Corvetto  as  minister  of  finance,  w'ithdrew  with  the 
Duke  of  Richelieu,  and  General  Dessolle  became  president  of  the 
council.  Serre  received  the  seals,  and  Marshal  Gouvion  Saint- 
Cyr  retained  the  portfolio  for  war.  Louis  was  placed  at  the  head 
of  the  finances,  and  Portal  at  the  head  of  the  marine.  Decazcs 
obtained  the  portfolio  of  tlie  interior,  and  was  in  reality  the  liead 
of  the  new  ministry.  The  result  of  the  elections  of  1817  and 
1818  was  to  give  a  majority  to  the  moderate  liberal  parly,  and  it 


R  E  S  T  ()  i;  A  Tin  \     O  F     li  0  TMIIU)  \  S  371 

1818-1819 

was  to  be  fen  red  tliat  there  would  no  loiit;er  he  any  speeies  of  har- 
mony between  it  and  tlic  ehamber  of  ])ecrs. 

Relying-  on  the  support,  in  the  ch.aniber  of  deputies,  of  the  hb- 
erals,  whicli  gave  it  a  hhcral  and  constitutional  majority,  the  min- 
istry presented  in  the  course  of  the  session  several  laws  favorable 
to  the  public  liberties,  the  most  important  of  which  were  those  re- 
ferring to  the  press  and  the  jcnu'nals.  the  independence  of  whic!;' 
had  been  hitherto  provisionally  suspended.  The  first  of  these  pro- 
posed laws  authorized  the  free  pul:)]ication  of  all  non-periodical 
writings,  while  at  th.e  same  time  it  declared  every  attack  on  good 
morals  to  be  punishable.  Two  otliers  contained  the  regulations  to 
be  enforced  in  tlie  case  of  periodical  publications  and  journals,  in 
respect  to  W'hich  the  registration  of  the  names  of  the  proprietors 
and  responsible  editors,  and  tlie  deposit  of  a  moderate  security,  was 
demanded.  The  ])rincipal  articles  of  the  proposed  laws  prohibited 
the  anticipatory  seizure  of  journals  and  periodicals,  and  referred 
to  the  judgment  of  a  jury  all  crimes  cfjmmitted  through  the  ]iress, 
with  the  excep^tion  of  libels  against  private  persons,  which  remained 
subjects  of  iufjuiry  by  the  correctional  police.  The  three  laws  were 
adopted,  after  rui  animated  discussion,  by  a  large  majnritv  in  each 
chamber.  The  state  of  the  nation  now  began  to  l)e  irantjuil ;  foreign 
tron])s  no  longer  encumbered  its  soil:  commerce,  industry  and  agri- 
culture nourished,  and  public  credit  began  to  re\ive ;  e\erything,  in 
fact,  ga\'e  ])romise  of  a  happ\-  future.  But  partv  spirit  was  still 
ardent  and  implacable.  The  royalists  were  unwilling  to  make  the 
slightest  liberal  concession,  while  the  liljcrals,  f(»r  their  part,  knew 
not  how  to  be  patient  and  com[)romise(l  the  future  for  the  sake  of 
obtaining  a  temporary  triumph.  I'here  were  many  distinct  fac- 
tions in  the  liberal  ])arty.  the  niost  \;olcn(  oi"  whieli  was  the  revolu- 
tionary ])artv.  which.  lool<ing  u])on  the  llourbons  as  the  irrecon- 
cilable enemies  of  the  rexolution.  hoj-ed  to  oxerthrow  them.  (Con- 
stitutionalists, who  numbered  .aniiuig  their  ranks  .all  tlie  moderate 
men  of  the  liberal  party,  held  abox'e  all  things  to  the  guarantees 
given  bv  the  charter.  be!ie\ing  tliat  in  its  rigorous  observance  alone 
lay  the  s.afety  of  JM-ance.  In  the  lattei'  partv  there  existed  a  small 
group  of  men  who  allied  themseKes  with  the  wiser  members  oi  the 
rovalist  parly,  refusing  to  regard  the  rights  of  the  crown  as  distinct 
from  those  of  the  country,  and  considering  them  as  cf|uallv  in\-iola- 
ble.  The  meiribers  of  this  i)arty  were  named  the  "doctrinaires," 
and  the  most  prominent  of  them  were  Royer-L'ollard,  De  Droglie, 


372  FRANCE 

1319-1820 

Camille  Joiirdan  and  De  Barante,  in  the  chambers,  and  Gnizot 
in  the  press.  The  ministr}^  during  the  legislative  session  of  1818 
and  1 8 19,  was  constantly  in  harmony  with  this  party.  Towards 
the  end  of  that  session,  however,  a  violent  rupture  took  place 
between  the  cabinet  and  the  extreme  portion  of  the  liberal  party. 
Many  petitions  had  been  presented  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  by  a 
general  act  of  the  legislature  the  recall  of  all  who  had  been  banished 
after  the  second  restoration.  This  was  firmly  denied  in  the  case  of 
the  regicides,  and  the  denial  ultimately  led  to  a  complete  rupture 
between  Decazes  and  the  liberal  party.  The  legislative  session  was 
closed  on  July  17,  18 19. 

The  elections  which  took  place  in  this  year  for  the  renewal  of  the 
third  series  of  the  chamber  of  deputies  were  chiefly  made  under  the 
ever-increasing  influence  of  the  liberal  party.  Many  of  the  mem- 
bers chosen  were  openly  hostile  to  the  Bourbons,  and  the  king,  se- 
riously alarmed  at  the  result  of  the  elections  and  at  the  imperious 
demands  of  the  liberals,  yielded  to  the  solicitations  of  his  brother 
and  family,  and  resolved  to  modify  the  electoral  law ;  Decazes 
signified  his  approval  of  this  course.  Several  of  his  colleagues, 
however,  rightly  thinking  that  his  better  course  would  have  been 
to  resign,  retired  from  the  ministry  with  the  esteem  of  the  public. 
These  were  DessoUe,  Louis  and  Gouvion  Saint-Cyr,  who  were 
replaced  by  Pasquier,  for  foreign  affairs,  Roy,  for  the  manage- 
ment of  the  finances,  and  Latour-Maubourg  for  war.  Decazes 
formed  the  new  cabinet,  and  received  the  title  of  president  of 
the  council.  His  course  of  conduct,  which  had  become  undecided 
and  wavering,  irritated  the  liberals  without  conciliating  the  royalists, 
and  the  latter  never  relaxed  in  their  attacks  until  a  frightful  event 
enabled  them  to  overthrow  him,  and  transferred  the  government  to 
their  hands.  The  Duke  o.f  Berry,  second  son  of  the  Count  of 
Artois,  was  assassinated  on  the  evening  of  February  13,  1820,  as 
lie  was  leaving  the  opera.  His  death  spread  terror  througliout 
Paris  and  all  France,  and  the  royalists  unjustly  declared  that 
Decazes  was  responsible  for  it.  In  vain  did  the  minister,  for  the 
purpose  of  appeasing  liis  enemies,  hasten  to  submit  to  the  chambers 
exceptional  laws  directed  against  individual  liberty  and  against  the 
press,  as  well  as  a  new  law  for  the  regulation  of  elections,  but  this 
only  roused  the  liberal  party  against  him,  and  both  royalists  and 
liberals  combined  to  bring  about  his  fall.  The  king  was  CDmpelled 
to  dismiss  him,  and  Richelieu  accepted  the  presidency  of  the  cabinet, 


R  E  S  T  O  R  A  T I 0  N     OF     BOURBONS 


373 


1820 


which  retained  ah  its  members,  with  the  exception  of  its  head, 
and  in  which  Simeon  re[)laced  Decazes  as  minister  of  the  interior. 
The  greater  part  of  Europe  was  at  this  time  in  a  state  of  violent 
effervescence.  Spain  had  risen  against  Ferdinand  VTI.  and  com- 
pehed  liim  to  grant  a  constitution  to  the  country.      Portugal  had  re- 


called her  old  king-.  John  I\^.,  who  accepted  a  liberal  constitution. 
A  revolution  in  Xaples  had  compelled  l-'erdinand  I\^  to  consent  to 
one  preciselv  similar,  while  Gcrmanv  was  stirred  up  by  the  pro- 
mulgation of  liberal  opinions,  and  Hreece  was  seeking  to  liberate 
herself  from  the  thraldom  of  Turkey. 


Chapter  XXIII 


THE   REACTION    UNDER   CHARLES    X.    AND   THE 
REVOLUTION    OF    1830.     1820-1830 


I 


"^HE  absolute  monarchs,  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  the  Czar, 
and  the  King  of  Prussia,  had  signed,  in  181 5,  a  treaty 
famous  under  the  name  of  the  Holy  Alliance,  whose  real 
object  was  the  repression  of  the  revolutionary  spirit  which  had 
displayed  itself  throughout  Europe  in  every  direction  in  a  manner 
very  threatening  to  social  order.  Metternich,  in  the  name  of  the 
Emperor  of  Austria,  his  ma:ster,  convoked  with  this  object,  at  Carls- 
bad, a  congress  which  took  energetic  measures  for  the  destruction 
of  secret  societies,  and  everything  tending  to  subvert  the  then  ex- 
isting state  of  things ;  and  a  few  months  afterwards  the  sovereigns 
of  Russia,  Austria  and  Prussia  consulted  together  at  Troppau,  in 
Silesia,  on  the  means  of  stifling  the  revolution  in  Spain,  Portugal, 
and  the  kingdom  of  Naples.  Being  assembled  at  a  later  period  at  a 
new  congress  at  Laybach,  they  invited- the  old  King  of  Naples,  Fer- 
dinand IV.,  to  proceed  thither  to  join  them. 

While  the  three  allied  sovereigns  thus  set  themselves  in  direct 
opposition  to  the  revolutionary  spirit  in  France,  the  reaction  that 
marked  the  reign  of  Charles  X.  had  already  begun  to  raise  its  head 
in  the  last  years  of  Louis  XVIII.  The  unfortunate  consequences  of 
some  of  the  elections  of  18 19,  and  the  fatal  catastrophe  of  February, 
1820,  soon  made  themselves  felt.  Richelieu  supported  in  the 
chamber  the  exceptional  laws  presented  by  Decazes,  the  first  of 
which  suspended  individual  liberty.  This  was  carried,  and  so  was 
the  law  aimed  at  the  liberty  of  the  press,  by  which  the  censorship  of 
the  journals  was  reestablished  for  a  year.  The  discussion  on  this 
measure  was  followed  by  still  more  angry  debates  on  the  new  Elec- 
toral Law,  which  if  carried,  would  deprive  the  middle  and  industrial 
classes  of  almost  all  their  political  influence  to  the  profit  of  the  great 
landed  proprietors. 

The  law,  as  it  was  adopted,  raised  the  number  of  deputies  to 
four  hundred  and  thirty,  of  which  two  hundred  and  fifty-eight  were 

374 


C  II  A  II  L  E  S     X  375 

1820 

to  be  nominated  l)y  the  district  colleges,  consisting'  of  electors  pay- 
ing taxes  to  tlie  amount  of  three  hundred  francs,  while  a  hundred 
and  seventy-two  were  to  be  elected  by  the  colleges  of  departments, 
which  were  to  consist  of  a  fourth  part  of  the  most  heavily-taxed 
electors  of  the  department.  The  latter  voted  in  the  two  colleges, 
and  thus  possessed  a  i)rivilege  over  the  others  which  was  considered 
as  a  deviation  fnnn  the  charter,  and  which  caused  this  new  Electoral 
Law  to  receive  the  unjjopular  name  of  the  Law  of  the  Double  Vote. 
The  law  was  eventually  passed  by  a  small  majority  in  the  midst  of 
sanguinary  riots,  and  the  session  was  closed  on  July  22.  The  stormy 
debates  on  the  I^lectoral  Law  caused  a  most  disastrous  feeling 
of  excitement  throughout  the  whole  of  h^rance.  The  liberal  party 
found  itself  disarmed  by  it,  and  losing  all  hope  of  obtaining  any 
preponderance  in  the  state  by  legal  methods,  it  had  recourse  to  dark 
and  guilty  tactics,  to  conspiracies  and  plots.  The  army,  filled  with 
discontented  men,  was  ready  to  second  any  movement  hostile  to  the 
government  and  was  honeycombed  by  many  secret  societies.  A 
military  cons|)iracy,  which  had  ramificalidns  in  e\ei-y  part  of  the 
kingdom,  was  discovered  in  Paris  on  August  20.  1S20.  The  leaders 
of  tlie  plot  in  the  garriscjn  of  Paris  were  ^^lajor  Bernard  and  Captain 
Xantil :  the  first  made  revelations,  tlie  second  fied,  and  the  con- 
s])iracy  was  crushed.  A  great  number  of  their  accom])lices  in 
e\cry  rank  of  life  were  arrested  and  taken  before  the  court  of  peers. 
In  the  mitlst  of  tlie  ])rofound  excitement  caused  by  the  discovery 
of  this  i)l()t  the  J  )uchess  of  llerry  ga\e  birth  to  a  son,  who  received 
the  title  i>\  the  Duke  of  Bordeaux,  and  whose  birth  seemed  to  prom- 
ise a  prolonged  possession  of  the  throne  of  France  to  the  eldest 
brancli  of  the  hJourbons. 

Tlie  elections  which  now  took  place  were  almost  all  favorable  to 
the  ro}-alists.  Tlie  majority  of  the  dei)Uties  tlurs  elected  belonged  to 
the  extreme  section  of  the  royalist  party.  Disai)pc)inted  in  his 
ho[)es  that  the  elections  would  be  in  fa\(>r  of  the  moderate  royalists, 
Pichelieii  fell  coni])elIed  to  gi\e  a  new  pledge  to  the  r(.)yalist  partv 
by  admitting  to  the  council  Laine,  as  well  as  Villele  and  C'or- 
biere,  ^\llo  exercised  great  iiillucnce  over  the  right,  or  nwalist. 
side  of  the  elective  chamber.  d'he  folluwing  legislative  session 
showed  h(j\v  \ain  were  the  hopes  in  which  the  ministry  still  indulged 
that  they  would  be  able  to  carry  on  the  government  by  the  aid  of 
the  UKjderate  men  of  the  two  parties.  The  whole  left  had  been  re- 
duced by  the  late  elections  to  a  hundred  deputies,   wIk)  were  all 


376  FRANCE 

1820-1821 

deeply  irritated  at  tiie  conduct  of  the  moderate  ministers,  and  who 
numbered  among  tliem  men  devoted  to  the  principles  of  1789,  Vvliich 
they  eloquently  defended.  All  the  functions  of  the  liberal  party, 
from  the  doctrinaires  to  the  irreconcilable  enemies  of  the  Bourbons, 
were  represented  among  them  by  their  leaders.  Opposed  to  them 
were  confounded,  under  the  name  of  royalists,  the  men  attached 
to  the  legitimate  monarchy  as  it  had  been  made  by  the  charter,  and 
the  much  larger  number  who,  looking  upon  the  charter  as  an  un- 
fortunate legacy  of  the  revolution,  hoped,  as  they  could  not  destroy 
it,  at  least  to  be  able  greatly  to  modify,  by  the  aid  of  fresh  laws,  the 
effects  of  its  principal  clauses.  The  latter  section,  during  the  first 
months  of  the  new^  session,  did  not  venture  to  treat  the  revolution 
as  entirely  vanquished,  but  in  the  spring  of  1821,  when  all  the  insur- 
rections of  the  populations  of  Italy  were  crushed,  and  the  Austrians, 
after  an  easy  victory,  were  masters  of  the  whole  peninsula,  the 
royalist  party  of  France  regarded  itself  victorious  along  with  them, 
and  the  majority  in  the  chamber  of  deputies  again  openly  displayed 
the  ardent  passions  which  had  animated  the  chamber  of  181 5.  The 
new  intentions  of  the  royalist  party  manifested  themselves  in  May, 
1 82 1,  during  the  debate  on  a  proposed  law,  by  which  it  was  sought 
to  apply  the  amount  of  extinct  ecclesiastical  pensions  to  the  endow- 
ment of  twelve  new  bishoprics,  the  improvement  of  vicarages  and 
curacies,  and  the  repair  of  churches.  This  project  was  opposed  by 
the  royalists  as  insufficient  and  too  restrictive  of  the  rights  of  the 
church.  The  opposition  attempted  to  completely  change  the  char- 
acter of  the  ministerial  plan,  but  the  ministry  succeeded  in  pre- 
serving its  principal  clauses.  The  number  of  new^  bishroprics 
which  the  government  had  proposed  should  be  twelve,  was,  in 
principle,  raised  to  thirty,  and  the  choice  of  the  places  where  these 
sees  should  be  founded  was  left  to  the  king.  The  proposed  law,  as 
thus  modified  by  the  chamber  of  deputies,  was  adopted  by  that  of 
the  peers,  and  the  condition  of  the  clergy  was  then  made  pretty  much 
what  it  remains  at  the  present  day.  The  next  thing  which  excited 
the  opposition  of  the  royalist  party  was  the  proposal  of  a  law  rela- 
tive to  the  hereditary  grants  bestowed  by  the  imperial  government, 
and  which  had  l)een  secured  on  the  property,  in  conquered  territiir- 
ies,  which  formed  part  of  the  emperor's  "  extraordinary  domain." 
The  remains  of  this,  valued  at  four  millions  of  rentes,  had  been  in- 
corporated witli  tlie  state  property  by  a  financial  law  of  1818,  and 
the  state  had  thus  become  the  debtor  of  all  those  on  whom  grants 


CIIAULKS      X  377 

1821 

had  hecMi  bestowed  under  tlie  empiiw  The  law  jji'oposed  l)y  die 
i^'overiinien.t  in  ^hareii.  iSjr,  L^Tanicd  yrnlrs  iiiserihcd  nn  l!;e  L^rcat 
I)ook  of  the  pnl)hc  debt  to  all  die  sur\  i\  ini;;-  ,i;rantces,  divided  into  six 
classes;  those  coniin,!^''  under  the  lir.->t  class  to  recci\e  a  thou.-aiid 
francs  and  those  ui  the  latter  a  hundred,  ddie  royalists,  h(nvever. 
vehcrnently  r^])posed  it,  and  dem.-mded  that  the  soldiers  of  C(Midc"s 
army,  the  V'endeans  and  Chouans,  should  he  allowed,  as  well  as  ih" 
old  L;rantee.-i  of  the  empire,  to  become  sharers  in  what  remained  of 
the  imperial  "  extraordinary  domain."  Their  jiri^posal  was  carried, 
but  the  law,  as  ])assed,  recoL;nized  the  i)ossess!on  of  no  absolute 
ri,G^hts  l)y  the  i^'rantees,  and  onK'  bestowed  life  ])ensions  on  the  old 
soldiers  who  still  survi\-ed,  whetlier  royalists  or  im|)erialists,  or  the 
heirs  oi  those  who  were  dead.  The  violent  debates  on  this  l;iw 
were  brought  to  a  ch^sc  at  the  moment  when  tlie  trial  nf  the  persf)ns 
concerned  in  the  conspiracies  of  Au,Q;ust  20  was  about  to  com- 
mence in  the  court  of  peers.  ddie  latter  reckoned  amon^i;-  its 
members  many  of  the  most  illustrious  men  nf  the  empire,  who  bit- 
terly relented  the  insults  which  had  been  lu'a])ed  on  the  old  armv 
in  the  other  chamljer,  and  were  thus  inclined,  ])erhap<,  to  look  Ic-i 
harshly  on  the  military  conspirators  brou^'ht  before  them  for  judj.;- 
ment.  Most  of  the  conspirators  were  ac(]uitted,  and  one  only,  Cap- 
tain Xantil,  who  had  lied,  was  condemned  to  death. 

ddie  re\-olutionary  sjjirit,  which  hatl  lint  recently  -".vorn  so  seri- 
ous an  aspect  throughout  Europe,  was  uiuv  e\ei'y where  crushed, 
and  a  revolution  in  IMedmont,  which  had  induced  the  Kinq'  of  S;ir- 
dim'a,  \h'ctor  I'jumanuel,  tn  abdicate  in  fa\-i 'r  r)f  his  bri)ther,  Charles 
b\dix,  v.-as  put  dnwn  in  the  s])ring  of  1821  by  the  new  monarch  wdtli 
the  aid  nf  Austrian  trriops. 

A  .^reat  even.!,  the  news  of  which  had  only  recently  reached 
]uir(ipe,  caused  a  powerful  sensation  tliere.  Napoleon  had  ceased 
to  exi^t,  havinq'  expired  at  St.  Helena  on  May  5,  iSji,  in,  the  midst 
of  a  few  faithful  friends,  after  several  jnonths  of  friqiitful  at^-ony, 
and  after  a  captivity  nf  six  years.  At  tins  time  a  sec.et  power 
in\-aded  ;dl  brrniches  nf  the  public  a-lmim'stration.  Hurin^'  the 
last  ten  \-ears  there  liad  spruni;'  up  rm  inducntial  sociel\-.  named 
'' ddic  Con,qTei\'itinn."  wlmse  object,  at  ih'st,  w-as  simplv  the  ])ei"- 
formance  of  ci;ood  works  and  reliy-ious  duties.  It  had  .'iffdiated  it- 
self to  the  Jesuits,  who,  ;dlhon<;h  they  were  not  permitted  tn  reside 
in  France  as  members  nf  the  nrder,  had  fnimded  man\'  reli^iou^ 
houses  there  under  the  name  of  "  l^'athers  of  the  I'aith."      Th.ev  hail 


378  FRANCE 

1821-1822 

powerful  supporters  among-  the  members  of  the  royal  famil}-  itself, 
and  Louis  XVIII.  had  consented  to  tolerate  them,  without,  how- 
ever, recognizing  their  legal  existence.  The  members  of  the  con- 
gregation finally  began  to  take  an  active  part  in  politics,  and,  being 
imbued  as  they  were  with  the  most  reactionary  principles,  they  be- 
came, under  the  patronage  of  Polignac  and  Riviere,  a  most  formid- 
able obstacle  to  the  ministers  Decazes  and  Richelieu.  The  elec- 
tions of  1 82 1  still  further  increased,  in  the  chamber  of  deputies,  the 
right  side  at  the  expense  of  the  liberal  left,  and  Laine,  Villele 
and  Corbiere  now  quitted  the  cabinet,  to  which  they  were  no 
longer  willing  to  lend  the  support  of  their  names,  and  which  they 
left,  at  the  commencement  of  a  new  session,  face  to  face  with  an 
ardent  royalist  majority  resolved  to  overthrow  it.  The  liberals 
openly  leagued  them^lves  with  their  adversaries  for  the  purpose  of 
overthrowing  the  government.  The  opportunity  offered  itself  at 
last  in  the  proposal,  by  Richelieu  and  his  colleagues,  of  two  laws 
for  the  prolongation  of  the  censorship  and  the  increased  stringency 
of  the  law  repressive  of  the  abuses  of  the  press.  The  rejection  of 
these  by  a  large  majority  rendered  the  resignation  of  the  government 
indispensable.  Richelieu  surrendered  his  portfolio  into  the  hands 
of  the  king;  his  colleagues  followed  his  example,  and  a  new  ultra- 
royalist  cabinet  was  formed  in  December,  1821,  of  which  the  most 
influential  members  were  Peyronnet,  the' keeper  of  the  seals,  Villele, 
minister  of  finance,  and  Corbiere,  minister  of  the  interior.  The 
Duke  of  Belluno  was  made  minister  of  war,  while  the  portfolio  for 
foreign  affairs  was  gi\'en  to  Viscount  Matthieu  de  ]\Iontmorcncy,  a 
prominent  member  of  the  congregation,  which  thus  won  a  place  in 
the  cabinet,  its  members  thus  obtaining  the  principal  employments 
and  offices  under  every  ministry.  Frcjm  this  time  the  government 
and  the  chamber  of  deputies  followed  unanimously  a  reactionary 
course.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  ministry  was  to  take  from 
juries  the  right  of  deciding  respecting  crimes  committed  by  the  press, 
and  to  pass  two  measures  respecting  it,  of  a  very  serious  nature. 
According  to  the  first,  the  political  tendency  of  a  series  of  articles 
might  constitute  an  offense  against  the  laws,  although  no  one  of 
them  taken  by  itself  could  be  so  construed;  according  to  tlie 
second,  the  censorship,  in  certain  serious  circumstances,  might  be 
reestablished. 

The  year  1822  further  witnessed  the  outbreak  of  a  Bonapartist 
plot  contrived  by  General  Berton,  who  assembled  a  troop  of  young 


(  IIARLKS     X  379 

1822 

men,  soldiers  :\n(\  lialf-arnicd  peasants,  and  inarclicd  at  their  licad 
bcncatli  the  tricolor.  ]le  seized  the  city  of  Thmiars  in  the  name 
of  Napoleon  111.,  and  inarched  upon  Saumnr,  which  he  could  not 
carry.  Being"  now  ahandcuied  h}-  most  of  his  followers,  he  took  to 
flight,  but  was  arrested.  .\l)out  the  same  time  there  occurred  a  mili- 
tar)'  revolt  at  Helfort,  to  which  (ieneral  Lafayette  himself  was  not 
a  strang'cr.  hut  which  was  sjiecdilv  cnish.ed.  liertou  was  taken 
before  the  court  of  assi/es  at  J'oictiers,  and  he  and  two  of  his  ac- 
complices lost  their  heads  upon  the  scaffold;  a  third  committed 
suicitle.  Paris  was  soon  afterw;irds  the  theater  of  an  afllictiiig 
scene.  I-'oiu"  xouaig  su.h-ohlcers  in  garrison  at  Roclielle,  convicted  of 
having"  Ijeen  engaged,  in  a  re\(>lutionarv  ])lot,  were  condemne<l  to 
death,  and  marched  to  the  scaffold  through  the  midst  of  a  populace 
inspired  at  once  by  pity  and  resentment.  It  was  thus  that  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  restoration  thought  that  it  might  once  more  obtain 
protection  against  criminal  plots  ami  too  real  perils  by  means  ui 
rigorous  chastisements. 

A  new  congress  of  sovereigiis  now  assembled  at  Veroiia,  at 
which  was  discussed  the  important  (piestion  of  the  Spanish  revolu- 
tion, (h'eat  disturbances,  rendered  inevita])le  by  the  weakness  and 
the  ])erlid_\-  of  l"\M"dinand  \dl.,  had  broken  forth  in  that  country; 
sanguinarv  combats  had  taken  place  between  the  populace  and  the 
royal  gu.ards  and  the  monl<s.  who  had  been  jjartially  despoiled  of 
th.eir  ])Mssessions,  had  excited  a  \-ast  counter-re\-olutionary  move- 
ment in  Catalonia,  and  e\'en  establi.-^hed  a  regency,  issuing  ])r(iclama- 
tions  in  tlic  king's  nan^.e  and  raised  an  armv  of  twent_\--li\e  thou- 
sand men,  who  penetrated  into  .\ragiin.  Tlie  constitutional  general, 
Mina,  ])ut  this  army  to  rout  and  left  no  hojjc  to  the  royalists  sax'e  in 
l-"rench  iiUer\-ention.  The  \-ellow  fe\er,  which  desolated  Ik'ircelona, 
had  Some  time  since  made  Louis  Will.  resoU-e  to  post  a  cord()n  of 
troops  on  the  I'yrenees  frontier  under  pretext  of  sanitarv  j)recau- 
tions,  and  these  troops  might  at  any  moment  l)e  con\-erted  into  an 
army  of  in\asion.  Such  was  the  state  of  things  in  Si)ain,  in  iSjj, 
when  tlie  congress  commenced  its  session  at  \'erona.  Chateaubriand 
ruid  Montmorency  represented  I'rance  at  \'erona,  while  the  Duke 
of  Wellington  wa.s  the  repre>entati\e  of  hhigland.  Wdien.  accord- 
ingh".  I'reneh  interxention  in  Spain  was  proposed,  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  opposed  it,  and  \dllele,  who  had  become  presideni  of 
the  council,  hopctl  that  it  might  e\en  yet  be  avoitled  or  adj(.)urned. 
iUit  the  majorit}"   in  the  chamber  of  the  de[)Uties  were  eager   f(»r 


380  FRANCE 

1822-1823 

war;  the  contagion  of  the  Spanish  revolution  appeared  dangerous 
to  France,  ruid  more  especially  to  Italy,  in  the  eyes  of  the  royalists 
and  the  three  allied  sovereigns,  and  they  unanimously  resolved  to 
suppress  it.  The  amhassadors  of  Russia,  Austria,  and  Prussia 
immediately  quitted  Aladrid.  The  ambassador  of  France,  Gen- 
eral Lagarde,  was  not  yet  recalled ;  Chateaubriand  succeeded  Mont- 
morency at  the  head  of  foreign  affairs.  The  extraordinary  credits 
asked  for  the  Spanish  campaign  were  granted,  and  thenceforth  war 
appeared  inevitable.  A  numerous  army  v/as  already  assembled  on 
the  Pyrenees  frontier,  the  command  of  which  was  taken  at  the  end 
of  ]\larch,  1823,  by  the  Duke  of  Angouleme.  The  French  troops 
crossed  the  frontier  early  in  April  and  speedily  arrived  at  Madrid, 
which  the  Cortes  had  left,  carrying  with  them  Ferdinand  VII.,  first 
to  Seville  and  then  to  Cadiz,  after  having  declared  him  dethroned 
on  account  of  imbecility.  Negotiations  were  entered  into  with  the 
moderate  constitutional  generals,  and  the  Duke  of  Angouleme 
formed,  in  a  spirit  of  conciliation,  a  Spanish  regency  at  Madrid, 
under  the  presidency  of  the  Duke  of  Infantado,  with  the  intention 
of  keeping  in  check  the  ultra-royalist  party,  whose  blind  violence 
and  fanaticism  threatened  Spain  with  a  murderous  reaction.  To 
prevent  the  scenes  of  brigandage  and  murder  to  which  this  party 
would  have  resorted  without  wholesome  restraint,  the  Duke  of 
Angouleme  issued  the  celebrated  decree  of  Andujar,  which  pro- 
hibited the  Spanish  authorities  from  arresting  anyone  without  the 
sanction  of  the  French  officers,  and  placed  the  editors  of  the  jour- 
nals under  the  direct  protection  of  these  officers.  The  Cortes  at 
Cadiz,  however,  refused  to  put  faith  in  the  promises  of  the  duke, 
who  pledged  himself  to  obtain  liberal  institutions  for  them  from 
their  king.  They  rejected  all  his  propositions,  which  their  weakness 
should  have  induced  them  to  accept,  and  the  French  troops  then  per- 
f(jrmed  some  gallant  feats  of  arms.  They  attacked  the  formidable 
l^altcries  of  the  Isle  of  Leon ;  the  Trocadero  was  taken  in  the  prince's 
presence;  Cadiz  submitted  and  Ferdinand  VII.  was  immediately 
set  free. 

'i'he  war  was  at  an  end  and  Ferdinand  took  a  savage  vengence 
on  the  constitutional  party.  The  immense  expenses  of  the  war  re- 
mained a  burden  on  Fnince,  and  it  may  be  said  that  the  expedition 
was  only  l;cnchcia]  to  the  ultra-royalist  party,  as  its  success  enabled 
them  to  carry  most  of  the  ])artial  elections  which  followed  the  cam- 
paign.    This  inspired  \'illcle  with  the  idea  of  establishing  his  power 


CHARLES     X  381 

1823-1824 

on  a  mutual  g-norl  undcrslandini;-  liclwccn  the  [government  and  a 
septennial  chamber,  or  one  elected  for  se\en  }ear>.  To  obtain  a 
chamber  subservient  to  his  \iev\S  the  existing-  one  was  dissolved 
and  every  pre])aration  made  for  a  general  election.  In  this,  by  rea- 
son of  the  undue  iniluence  exerted  bv  the  government,  only  nineteen 
liberal  members  were  returned,  thus  !L;i\inL;-  the  court  i)arty  a  ma- 
jority which  far  .surpassed  t'leir  uk  ist  ardent  Impes. 

At  the  opening-  of  the  lei;-islati\  e  session,  in  March,  i.S_'4,  tlic 
king,  in  his  si)eech  to  the  chamber,  announced  that  two  laws  of  great 
importance  would  be  submitted  to  them,  d  he  ol)ject  of  one  of  these 
laws  was  to  substitute  for  the  quin(|uennial  and  partial  renewal  of 
tlie  electi\e  chaiuber  directed  by  the  charter  its  entire  and  septennial 
renewal:  the  other  referred  to  the  C(nnersion  of  the  rcufrs  inscribed 
on  the  great  book  of  the  public  debt.  The  ado.pii(  m  of  this  latter  law, 
the  monarch  asserted,  woudd  allow  of  a  great  dinnhiution  in  the 
taxes,  and  close  the  last  wounds  left  bv  the  revolution,  ddie  lirst 
f)f  these  proposed  laws  was  presented  by  the  ministrv  to  the  chamber 
of  peers,  and  having  been  carried  there,  was  introduced  in  tlie  cham,- 
ber  of  (le])Uties,  where  it  w:is  passed  by  a  l;n'ge  majority  in  spite  of 
the  opposition  of  the  liberal  ])arty,  led  by  Royer-Cdllard.  The  sec- 
ond project  met  with  a  very  different  fate.  Its  object  was  the  con- 
version of  the  h\'e  ])er  cent,  miles,  which  amomUed  to  a  hundred 
and  forty  millions,  in.to  three  per  cents.,  at  the  price  of  se\'enty-live 
per  cent.;  and  bank'crs  were  engaged  to  furnish  the  necessary  tunds 
for  the  repayment  at  par  of  those  holders  of  fwc  per  cent.  i-ri'!cs 
who  might  decline  t(j  accede  to  the  pro])oscd  exchange,  ddiis  plan, 
bv  which  the  go\-ernment  aimed  at  getting  mcrins  to  reimburse  the 
losses  suffered  by  the  old  enu'grants  or  th.eir  families,  excited  mncli 
angry  feeling.  Th,e  chamber  of  deputies  ado])ted  it;  but  it  was 
rejected  by  the  chaiuber  of  jieers,  mainly  through  th.e  tacit  itppo.^i- 
tion  of  Chateaubriand.  \'illele  immediately  demanded  the  dis- 
missrd  of  his  colleague,  which  he  obtained,  and  bv  this  \ioIent 
jiroceeding  hastened  his  own  fall,  (diateaubriand,  irritated  at  his 
dismissal,  formed  a  new  ])arty  ad\erse  to  the  goxernment,  from 
among  the  royalists,  and  of  thi>  the  J<'Unia!  iLw  /K'-lnits  became  the 
active  and  formidable  organ,  d'lie  liberal  ])re<s  getierallv  at  this 
time  se\-erely  re])roached  the  go\-ernmenl  fi 'r  its  retrogiTide  tenden- 
cies, while  the  joinaials  of  tlie  oppi'siie  p.arty  bitterh-  a.ccused  it  of 
(liLatoriness  in  satisf3-iug  the  dema.nds  df  the  extreme  riA'ahsts. 
ddiis  led  the  nn'nistry  to  put   into   fnrce  those  aiaicles  ui  the   law 


382  FRANCE 

1824-1S25 

which  permitted  it  to  prosecute  journals  on  account  of  the  general 
tendency  of  their  articles.  It  brought  several  editors  to  trial  in  the 
royal  courts,  and  in  almost  every  case  the  magistrates  made  common 
cause  with  the  press  against  the  court  and  cabinet.  The  government 
rendered  the  opposition  of  the  judges  still  more  determined  by 
censuring  their  judgments,  and,  as  the  ministers  saw  a  serious  dan- 
ger in  the  acquittals  pronounced  l)y  the  royal  courts,  they  recslalj- 
lished  the  censorship  on  this  ground  alone,  and  thus  declared  them- 
selves in  direct  opposition  to  the  magistracy.  The  clergy  obtained 
at  this  period  the  appointment  of  a  minister  for  ecclesiastical  affairs. 
The  first  appointed  was  a  bishop,  Frayssinous,  and  the  direction  of 
public  instruction  was  made  one  of  his  functions. 

The  king  was  now  on  the  verge  of  the  tomb.  On  Sunday,  Sep- 
tember lo,  he  could  not  hold  an  audience,  and  a  few  days  later 
he  lay  on  his  deathbed,  surrounded  by  the  members  of  the  roval 
family.  The  old  monarch  called  down  upon  all  his  relations  the 
benediction  of  Heaven,  and  laying  his  hand  on  the  Duke  of  Bor- 
deaux, the  last  and  feeble  offspring  of  his  race,  he  said,  with  a  voice 
full  of  emotion,  as  he  looked  at  his  brother,  "  Let  Charles  X, 
preserve  the  crown  for  this  child."  He  gave  his  last  sigh,  after 
a  protracted  agony,  and  Charles  X.  was  king. 

Charles  X.,  who  w^as  attached  by  all  his  feelings  to  the  ancient 
system  of  things  while  reigning  under  the  new,  looked  upon  all 
who  had  defended  the  principles  of  the  revolution  as  indiscriminately 
guilty  of  the  prolonged  calamities  of  France,  always  suspected  them 
in  spite  of  the  devotion  which  many  of  them  had  displayed  for  the 
monarchial  cause,  and  constantly  refused  to  enter  into  relations  with 
them.  Averse  to  all  violent  reaction,  and  naturally  benevolent,  he 
loved  popularity,  and  protested  his  respect  for  the  charter;  but  at 
the  same  time,  while  accepting  and  swearing  to  maintain  it,  he  would 
not  admit  that  it  had  established  in  France  powers  which  were 
rivals  of  his  own,  or  a  government  which  did  not  spring  from  his 
own  sole  authority.  Fie  regarded  the  two  chambers  only  as  bodies 
m  possession  of  political  powers  more  extensive,  doubtless,  than 
those  of  the  parlements  and  the  ancient  estates  of  the  kingdom,  but 
which  did  not  possess  more  extensive  rights  than  those  assemblies. 
Finally,  Charles  X.  regarded  as  dangerous  and  humiliating  to  his 
crown  any  concession  to  public  opinion,  and  was  full  of  anxiety 
to  reconstruct  upon  their  old  foundations,  as  far  as  possible,  the 
authority  of  the  throne,  the  aristocracy,  and  the  clergy,  believing  that 


1825-1826 

this  was  t!ic  only  tncans  of  securing;  the  safety  of  the  nionaroli\-  and 
of  France. 

The  sn])prcssi(Mi  of  th.c  ccnsorshi]),  which  Villclc  and  his  col- 
leagues had  re\i\ed.  was  regarded  as  a  favorable  omen  at  the  cnni- 
niencement  of  tlie  rci<;n.  lUit  while  releasing'-  the  press  from  tlie 
censorshi]!,  Charles  X.  did  not  re))ndiale  the  acts  of  a  minister  whom 
it  condemned,  but  on  the  contrary  accei)ted  them,  by  m.aintainini]^ 
him  in  ])ower.  d'hcn  those  of  the  moderate  liberals  who  had  been 
too  ready  to  hope,  were  disaljused,  and  ])ublic  oi)ini()n  was  exasper- 
ated by  a  series  of  unpoj)ular  projects  presented  in  succession  to  the 
chambers  durint^  the  sessions  of  iS_'5  and  1826. 

'i"he  first  of  these  plans,  alreadv  announced  by  the  late  kin.c:  in 
his  last  speech  to  the  chamber,  proposed  to  <^rant  to  the  emi,i;rants 
or  their  heirs  a  billion  of  francs,  as  an  indemm'ty  for  the  ])ossessions 
of  which  they  had  been  dispossessed  durini:;'  the  revolution.  This 
plan  was  \-ehemenllv  attacked  in  the  chamber  of  dei)ul!cs  by  mem- 
bers of  the  extreme  ric^iit,  because  they  did  not  consider  that  the 
plan  offered  the  emis.^rants  sufficient  reparation,  while  the  liberals 
in  the  chamber  and  witliout  it  thou,qiit  that  the  scheme  of  reim- 
bursement should  be  extended  to  the  members  of  the  T.e.q'ion  of 
1  fonor  who  had  been  deprix'cd  of  tlieir  allowances  from  1S14  to 
1821.  The  two  chnmbcrs,  lio\ve\er,  adopted  the  law  which  gave 
an  indemnity  to  the  emigrants  or  tlieir  heirs  without  including  the 
members  of  the  T,egion  of  llonor.  While  this  law  was  being  dis- 
cussed in  the  chamber  of  dc]nnies.  that  of  the  jjccrs  was  (k-hber:iting 
with  respect  to  a  ])r(ijeet  relating  to  the  female  religious  com- 
numilies.  The  ])rineipal  object  of  tlie  proj^osed  law,  which  legah/ed 
the  comnnuiiiies  already  established,  was  to  render  a  simple  roval 
decree  sufficient  for  the  establishment  of  new  ones.  ,\s  this  wmild 
])ro\e  the  means  of  sanctioning  (which  \vould  subsei[uentlv  allow 
the  .authorization)  by  a  simple  decree  the  exi-tence  of  the  So- 
ciety of  Jesus,  ;iiid  of  the  numerous  establishments  which  thcv 
already  pf)sesse(l  in  mnnerous  parts  of  ]'"rance  in  di'spite  of  the  laws 
to  the  contrary,  it  excited  e\en  greater  ojiposition  than  the  former 
one  in  both  chambers;  but  in  spite  of  this,  and  the  angrv  feelings 
\\"hich  it  excited  against  the  go\ernmeut  throughout  the  counti-\-, 
it  was  passed.  In  the  following  session,  iS_>(),  the  gt)vernment  pro- 
])osed  a  law,  according  to  which,  in  de fault  of  the  formal  expression 
of  any  wish  on  the  subject  on  the  part  of  the  testator,  a  considerable 
privilege  would  be  created  in  favor  of  ])rimogeniture  in  the  case  of 


384  FRANCE 

1 325 -1826 

all  estates  paying  land  taxes  of  three  hundred  francs  or  upwards. 
This  endeavor  to  substitute  the  power  of  the  law  for  the  will  of  the 
head  of  the  family,  for  the  purpose  of  reestablishing  in  France  a 
territorial  aristocracy,  wounded  one  of  the  most  nervous  fibers  of 
a  democratic  people,  and  betrayed  a  design  to  drive  France  back 
towards  the  social  order  of  the  old  system.  On  this  account,  espec- 
ially, it  excited  a  great  feeling  of  animosity  against  its  authors,  and 
few  acts  of  the  restoration  were  more  strongly  opposed  to  public 
opinion.  The  chamber  of  peers  rejected  the  law,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  th.e  clause  which  extended  the  rights  of  a  testator  as  to  the 
disposal  of  a  portion  of  his  property.  This  decision  made  a  great 
sensation  throughout  the  kingdom ;  Paris  illuminated  and  the  cham- 
ber of  peers  shared  for  a  time  with  the  chief  magistracy  the  popular 
favor. 

This  long  series  of  reactionary  measures,  which  were  so  fatal 
to  the  moral  authority  of  the  government,  was  interrupted  in  1825 
by  the  solemnities  of  the  consecration.  Charles  X.  appeared  at 
Rheims,  surrounded  by  all  the  old  pomp  of  the  royal  majesty,  took 
there  an  oath  to  preserve  the  charter  inviolate,  and  received  the 
crown  at  the  hands  of  the  archbishop,  in  the  midst  of  an  ancient 
ceremonial  which  was  little  in  harmony  with  the  ideas  of  the  age. 
and  in  which  the  nevv^  generation,  unfortunately,  could  only  see  an 
inopportune  act  of  deference  towards  the  clergy.  Shortly  after  this 
event  Montlosier  denounced  the  vast  organization  of  the  Congrega- 
tion as  dangerous  to  the  existence  of  religion  in  France  and  to  the 
safety  of  the  state,  and  Frayssinous  having  acknowledged  the  ex- 
istence of  Jesuits  in  the  kingdom,  IMontlosier  appealed  to  the  laws 
against  their  reestablishment  in  France  in  the  royal  court  of  Paris. 
"I1ie  latter  having  declared  itself  incompetent  to  proceed  against 
them,  Montlosier  immediately  applied  to  the  chamber  of  peers,  which 
received  the  petition  and  referred  it  to  the  president  of  the  council. 
Upon  this  the  government  resolved  to  shackle  tlie  press,  whicli  de- 
nounced the  Jesuits  to  the  country,  and  to  stifle  the  opposition  in  the 
chamber  of  peers,  which  invoked  against  it  the  rigors  of  the  law. 
To  effect  its  objects  it  was  necessary  for  the  government  to  reduce 
the  number  of  electors  who  were  most  lightly  taxed,  and  wh.o  be- 
longed to  th.e  classes  most  attached  to  the  liberal  cause.  It  accord- 
ingly presented  a  proposition  for  the  reduction  of  the  land-tax. 

The  session  of  1826  was  closed  in  July.  Public  o])iin'on,  irri- 
tated by  so  many  measures  dictated  1)y  a  policy  contrary  to  the 


CU  A  R  L  K  S     X  385 

1826-1827 

luitionnl  feeling"  and  sul)>er\-icnt  tn  t!ic  (*on.^"re,cratinn  and  llie  Jc-uii.-. 
burst  forlli  int*^  conijilaints  and  menaces.  I'rum  this  prnfunnd  dis- 
content, whicli  was  in  itself  a  i^reat  e\il,  there  sprang;'  also,  as  the 
c<insc(|nence  ut'  a  natural  reaction  of  the  public  mind,  an  un- 
f(jrtunate  tendency  to  conhauid  mvallv  and  th.e  ^-t  ivernmcnt  in  one 
common  blame,  a  ftital  disposition  which  is  1)Ut  too  readily  recoi;-- 
nizable  in  man\-  publications  of  the  period.  In  the  meantime,  \hlle1e, 
in  spite  of  his  increasing;"  un])o])uku"it\',  persisted  in  clin_^'in<;^  to 
])owcr.  Determined  to  be  t!ie  sole  master  of  the  p<.sition,  he  had 
successively  removed  from  ])o\\er  the  most  eminent  men,  Deca/.es. 
Laine,  Richelieu,  and  Chateaubriand,  all  of  whom  had  ])o\\crful 
friends  in  the  chamber  of  deputies,  where  lie  liimself  was  nov.- 
WW  weak,  and  he  hail  altoox'ther  lost  the  majority  in  il.e  chamber 
of  peers,  lie  resoKed  to  strike  in  the  ])erson  of  the  i)rcss  the  nn -it 
formidable  op])onent  of  his  ])ower,  and  at  the  commencement  of 
the  followin.q^  session,  Peyr<nuiet,  the  kccj)er  of  the  seals,  ]>i'csented 
to  the  dei)rities  a  law.  tlie  object  of  which  \\a<  to  restrain  th.e  liberty 
of  the  j)ress  witlhn  the  narrowest  limits  in  respect  to  jiamphlets 
and  books,  and  to  stitle  it  alt(\![^ether  in  respect  to  journals  and 
periodicals. 

The  j)roposed  law-  excited  an  almost  universal  feeling  of 
indignation,  the  k'rench  Academy  appoinUd  a  commiitee  of  its 
members  to  draw  up  a  petition  to  the  kin<?;  for  the  withdrawal  of 
the  project,  d'his  ])etition  Charles  X.  refused  to  receive,  amd  replied 
to  it  by  the  indiction  of  ptmishment,  deprixini;-  \dllemain.  i.actretelle. 
:uid  Midland  i^f  their  oftices.  The  law,  which  was  adojiied  by  the 
chamber  of  de])Uties,  was  \ehcmentlv  opposed,  in  that  ot'  the  peers. 
d"he  ctibinet  foresaw  that,  even  if  tliis  chamber  act^eittetl  it.  it  would 
at  lca<l  reject  its  most  rigorous  ckauses,  .and  >a\cd  it  from  so  il'AU- 
geror.s  an  operation  by  withdrawing  it.  d'his  news  w;is  received 
witli  acclaniatious  by  the  ])opulace  of  Paris,  ah'cadv  a  pre\'  to  a 
fiH-midable  excitement,  tlie  >yni])toms  of  which  were  (h<pla\-ed  in  the 
midst  of  l)onlires  and  jtopukar  cries,  bd'esh  and  irrefr;ig;d)le  signs 
of  the  general  feeling  were  manifested  e\er\-  day.  .and  it  was  im- 
possible to  doubt  the  sincerity  or  the  jjower  of  ])ul)lic  opini(in  which 
was  suj)ported  by  all  the  greatest  and  most  esteemed  bodies  in  the 
state,  the  j)eer;ige.  the  high  m.agi>tr,acy.  the  institute,  the  ministrv, 
and  e\'en  the  wise.-,t  and  mo^t   emuieiu   men  of  the  ro\-ali-^t   parlv. 

And  yet  the  cabinet  persevered,  determined  to  brave  ex'erything, 
as  though  fascinated  by  the  deceptive  prestige  of  a  factitious  [)arlia- 


386  FRANCE 

1827 

mentary  majority,  the  result  of  the  double  vote,  and  torn  from 
France  by  an  unlimited  administrative  centralization.  Charles  X., 
while  thus  opposing  every  liberal  feeling,  was  nevertheless  anxious 
that  the  French  should  be  personally  attached  to  him.  He  had  long 
been  hurt  at  the  silence  of  the  people  when  he  passed  among  them, 
and  after  having  witnessed  the  enthusiasm  of  the  Parisians  on  the 
occasion  of  the  withdrawal  of  the  law  respecting  the  press,  he 
ordered  a  general  review  of  the  national  guard  for  the  following 
Sunday.  The  king  was  favorably  received,  but  in  almost  every 
instance  the  cry  of  "  Vive  Ic  ruil  "  was  mingled  with  a  shout  of 
hostility  against  the  ministers.  The  princesses  who  were  present 
at  the  review  were  also  exposed  to  insult,  and  at  the  instigation  of 
the  offended  members  of  his  family  and  Villele  and  Corbiere  he 
dissolved  the  national  guard.  The  liberal  press  and  the  opposition 
journals  vehemently  reproached  the  president  of  the  council  for  this 
inconsiderate  act  of  vengeance,  and  immediately  after  the  session 
the  censorship  was  arbitrarily  reestablished.  A  strong  opposition 
against  the  decree  which  dissolved  the  national  guard  arose  in  the 
chamber  of  peers,  and  appeared  also  in  the  chamber  of  deputies, 
where  the  minority  hostile  to  the  ministers  increased  every  day  in 
strength.  Already  many  members  had  declared  that  although  a 
recent  law  had  sanctioned  the  septenniality  of  the  legislature,  they 
had  been  elected  only  for  five  years,  and  could  not  retain  their  seats 
for  any  longer  time  in  the  chamber.  Villele  resolved,  therefore,  to 
secure  the  duration  of  his  power  and  the  execution  of  his  plans  by 
the  election  of  a  new  septennial  parlement  which  sIkjuM  be  more 
docile  than  the  existing  one,  and  in  November,  1827,  appeared  the 
decree  by  which  the  chamber  of  deputies  was  dissolved.  The  elec- 
toral colleges  were  convoked  and  seventy-six  peers  created,  most 
of  the  latter  being  members  of  the  majority  of  the  old  chamber 
and  large  landed  proprietors  whose  great  fortunes  recommended 
them  to  the  royal  favor. 

The  cabinet  had  overstepped  the  mark,  and  public  opinion,  so 
long  misconstrued,  crushed  and  braved,  now  exploded  simultane- 
ously in  every  part  of  the  kingdom.  All  the  members  of  the  left 
who  had  been  rejected  in  the  preceding  election  reappeared,  and 
the  result  of  the  appeal  to  the  popular  vote  tln'oughout  France 
was  the  formation  in  the  chamber  of  an  imposing  constitutional 
majority.  ]\tany  of  them  returned  to  it  deeply  irritated,  dis- 
posed to  make   the  most   violent   resistance  to   the   pcjlicy   of  the 


C  IT  A  R  T.  K  S     X  3ST 

1827-1828 

cabinet.  It  was  in  vain  lliat  X'illclc  still  endcavurcd  to  retain  criiee 
by  sacrificing-  those  of  his  colleagnes  who  were  the  most  ciim]ir(j- 
miscd,  and  in  \ain  lliat  he  exhansted  e\erv  sjjccies  of  combinatii  m 
for  the  formation  of  a  conncil  in  harmon\-  with  the  new  chamber, 
and  in  whicli,  at  the  same  time,  he  nn'ght  himself  have  a  place.  1  le 
was  comj^clled  at  length  to  confess  his  powerlessness,  and  fell  befnre 
that  ]niblic  opinion  which  he  had  ti>o  hanghtilv  disdained. 

Ilaxing  shown  the  chief  ])oints  in  which  the  X'illele  ministrv 
had  rendered  itself  odions  to  all  parlies,  it  mav  n^w  be  well  to  notice 
a  few  nil  ire  satisfactory  measnres  which  it  etTecled  in  its  financial 
operati(Uis  and  foreign  i)(>Ii(.-y.  It  favored  the  increasing  credit 
which  I'^rance  now  Ijcgan  to  enjoy,  tlie  clTorts  of  its  manufacturing 
industry,  ami  its  trade  with  otlier  nations.  It  emancipated  the  old 
colony  of  S:  int  Domingo,  on  condition  of  the  p:iyment  of  a  con- 
si(leral)le  indemnity  to  the  dispossessed  colonis's,  and  by  the  treaty 
of  July  6,  iSj/,  the  J'^'ench  government  joined  with  bjigland  and 
Russia  for  the  purpose  of  putting  a  stop  to  hostilities  between 
"J\n'ke}-  and  Greece.  The  son  of  Alehemel-.\H,  Ibrahim  Pasha,  ha\'- 
ing  been  summoned  to  his  aid  by  the  sultan,  arrixcd  in  the  Morea 
^vith  a  formidable  lleet,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  inlcrxention  u\ 
the  powers  the  (ireeks,  who  were  utterly  exhausted,  must  ha\c  been 
lost.  Ibrahim  refused  to  observe  the  armistice  pre.-cribed  by  the 
]>)wers,  and  this  refu.^al  led  to  the  celebrated  battle  in  which  t!ie 
r'reiicli  s(|ua(lron,  under  Admiral  Kigny,  together  \v\i\]  the  baiglish 
and  Russian  S(|uadrons.  attacked  and  destroyed  the  l\gyptian  llect 
in  the  port  of  Xawarino.  ( )ctober  20,  i^2y.  This  \'ict(M"y  sax'cd  the 
Greeks  and  raised  them  to  the  rank  of  a  n;ition. 

The  new  council  \\as  formed  on  januarv  4.  iSjf^.  Tliere  was 
no  president  of  the  council,  but  .Martignac,  a  talented  and  judiciiius 
man,  who  was  \ery  ready  of  speech  and  full  of  tact,  ga\-e  his  name 
to  the  new  cabinet,  whicli  1(  )St  m  >  time  in  intri  iducing  si  nne  impi  ulant 
laws  conceixed  in  a  liberal  spirit.  ()iie  of  tliese  abolished  the  cen- 
sorship, rmd  others  sanctioned  the  SN'^lem  i*\  s])ecialitv  in  the  great 
divisions  of  tlie  budget,  and  the  pLrniauence  of  the  electoral  hsts. 
and  controlled  the  action  of  go\-ernn;un  oiVicials  in  re,s])cct  to  elec- 
tions, b'inallv,  the  right  of  iiUerpreting  tlie  laws  was  recognized  as 
belonging  to  the  two  brant-hes  of  tlie  legi>lature. 

The  most  ditlicult  acliiexenient  o\  the  ministry  was  the  issuing 
of  two  decrees,  which  forbade  the  je>uits  to  take  ])art  in  tlie  in- 
struction of  youth.    \\y  one  of  these  decrees  the  secondary  ecclesiasti- 


388  FRANCE 

1828-1829 

cal  schools  were  placed  under  the  common  law,  and  l3y  another  it 
was  ordained  that  no  one  should  either  teach  in  or  direct  them  who 
helonged  to  any  society  not  authorized  hy  law.  These  decrees  were 
the  most  painful  concessions  which  Charles  X.  made  to  the  demands 
of  the  age,  and  no  sacrifice  could  have  cost  him  more.  The  Congre- 
gation felt  itcelf  wounded  by  them  to  the  heart,  and  the  king  was 
surrounded  by  cries  of  anger  and  indignation.  The  distrust  with 
wliich  Charles  X.  had  always  regarded  the  ministry  which  had  been 
forced  on  him  by  the  pressure  of  public  opinion  was  now  changed 
into  aversion,  and  he  saw  with  satisfaction  the  opposition  Martignac 
and  his  colleagues  encountered  from  the  liberals,  who  began  to  be 
more  eager  in  their  demands  for  strong  guarantees  against  the 
return  of  the  royalist  party  to  power  than  for  the  passing  of  laws 
which  would  tend  to  the  good  of  France.  The  king  hoped  that 
the  moment  w^ould  come  when  the  ministers  would  be  condemned 
by  the  people  at  large,  and  he  trusted  to  be  able  to  find  in  their 
dismissal  by  the  popular  voice  a  reason  or  a  pretext  for  returning 
to  the  men  of  his  choice.  About  this  time  two  important  laws,  one 
of  which  related  to  the  organization  of  the  municipal  councils,  while 
the  other  regulated  those  of  the  departments  and  the  arrondisse- 
ments,  were  submitted  to  the  chamber  of  deputies.  Men  of  all  parties 
concurred  in  refusing  to  support  them,  and  an  announcement  from 
the  ministry  in  conformity  with  the  king's  orders  that  no  modifica- 
tion of  the  proposed  laws  would  be  permitted,  having  been  followed 
by  a  division  in  favor  of  an  amendment,  they  were  immediately 
withdrawn.  The  court  rejoiced  in  the  defeat  thus  suffered  by  the 
cabinet,  Charles  X.  resolved  to  dismiss  his  council,  and  on  August 
8,  1829,  after  the  vote  for  the  budget  of  1830,  and  the  close  of  the 
session,  appeared  the  decree  which  created  a  new  cabinet. 

Three  noteworthy  men,  the  Prince  of  Polignac,  Bourdonnaye, 
and  Bourmont,  were  made  members  of  the  new  cabinet  as  a  sort  of 
defiance  to  public  opinion.  The  first  was  the  living  expression  of 
the  Congregationist  party,  the  second  represented  all  that  was  most 
violent  in  the  unpopular  chamber  of  181 5,  and  the  third,  an  old 
leader  of  the  Chouans,  was  only  known  to  the  people  and  tlie  army 
as  a  deserter  from  the  French  camp  at  Waterloo.  As  soon  as  the 
names  of  the  new  ministers  were  announced  the  press  passed  by 
turns  from  expressions  of  rage  to  those  of  insulting  pity,  from  dis- 
dain to  threats.  Preparations  were  made  to  offer  a  vigorous  re- 
sistance to  the  court  by  means  of  the  elections,  and  in  every  part 


('  HAUL  K  S     X  389 

1829-1830 

of  the  kinq-doni  a  \Ti>t  associa!;,  •;]  •.■.■;,-  I'MrniC'l  t^  •!-  prcviii- 
tioii  of  the  (hvadcd  iin|)ositi<  >ii  of  illr-'il  taxes.  On  Mareli  2. 
Charles  X..  (h'splayini;-  fur  tlie  last  time  all  the  ])oiii|)  df  r<.ya;lv, 
deelared  in  ilie  presence  of  the  a.^senihled  de])nties  and  ])eers  his 
firm  intention  to  niaint;iin  e(|iial!y  intact  the  institutions  of  tlie 
country  and  tlic  ]M-erof^ativcs  of  the  crown.  'J"he  composition  of  the 
address  Irom  tlie  deputies  in  answer  to  the  speech  from  the  throne 
g-a\e  rise  to  a  very  animated  dehate,  in  whic'i  t\\<i  already  famous 
men,  (luizot  and  l^.erryer,  made  their  entrance,  on  oi)])osite  sides, 
into  parliamentary  life,  ddie  address  wliich  was  ])roposed  pointed 
out  to  the  kini;-  that  the  composition  of  his  cahinet  was  dan^^-erou-^ 
and  threatenini;-  to  the  ])ubhc  liberties,  and  it  also  c\])lained  that 
the  necessary  hanuony  between  the  political  views  of  the  s^over-i- 
meut  and  the  views  of  the  nation  did  not  exi>t.  and  entreated 
him  to  reestablish  it.  It  was  carried  by  a  maioritv  of  forty  in 
a  house  of  four  hundred  and  two,  and  Charles  X.,  after  ha.\- 
ing  heard  it,  dis])layed  much  irritation,  and  declared  that  his  reso- 
]uti(jns  were  known  ;ind  would  reiuain  immutable.  The  chamber 
was  pr(5ro_i;ued  and  then  dissoh-ed.  The  kin^;-  issued  a  decree  whicli 
ag'ain  convoked  the  electoral  colleges.  The  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
one  signers  of  the  address  were  almost  all  reelected,  and  the  oppo- 
sition was  reinforced  by  luany  new  members. 

In  the  lueantirne  an  alTrout  offered  to  the  i-h'ench  consul  gave 
tlie  ministry  an  opportunitv  ui  i)iu"ging  the  sea  of  ih.e  Harbary 
pirates.  An  expedition  was  sent  against  Algiers,  under  15ourmi)nt. 
the  minister  of  war.  and  Admiral  Duperi'e.  and  the  city  was  taken. 

The  p(»litical  struggle  at  length  ap])roached  its  determinalMU. 
The  general  result  (.f  the  elections  was  known,  and  th.e  mini.-^lry 
found  it.-^elf  in  front  of  a  majoritv  >\\\\  more  c<jm;;:ict,  impatient,  and 
hostile.  Most  of  the  members  of  tlie  majority.  ho\\e\er,  did  not  w';-h 
for  the  o\erthrow  of  the  throne,  and  were  sincerely  attached  to 
the  constitution,  but  to  be  de\-ote<l  to  the  constitution  was,  in  the 
e\'es  of  the  court,  to  be  the  eneiiu-  of  the  court,  and  thus,  by  retu:-ing 
its  stip])ort  to  the  men  who  wished  for  the  charter  witii  the  llour- 
bons.  it  inclined  tliem  to  join  tho-e  who  wi>hed  for  the  charter 
without  the  l'>ourbon>.  The  king  h.im.-^clf  belie\-ed  that  he  had  a 
great  mission  to  fullill.  and  that  a  great  duty  had  de\'ol\e(l  upon  him 
to  stille  liberalism  and  to  establish  his  go\ernment  t<n  exclusi\e!y 
religious  and  monarchical  bases.  1  le  h.ad  i»er>naded  him>elf  that  tin- 
fourteenth  article  oi  the  charter,  which  auth.ori/.ed  the  king  to  i<^ue 


390  FRANCE 

1830 

decrees  for  the  safety  of  the  state,  also  authorized  him  to  leave  the 
path  of  legahty  if  the  state,  being  in  peril,  could  not  be  saved  by 
legal  measures.  In  his  eyes  the  safety  of  the  monarchy  depended 
on  the  continuance  in  office  of  the  ministers  he  had  appointed,  and 
the  triumph  of  the  throne  over  a  chamber  which  he  accused  of  wish- 
ing to  overtlu'ow  it.  At  the  same  time  he  was  not  conscious  that 
he  was  violating  the  charter  or  perjuring  himself  when  he  made  the 
article  above  named  an  excuse  for  violating  it.  During  the  last  days 
of  July  the  king  remained  inflexible,  but  his  ministry  still  deliberated, 
and  either  because  it  hesitated  or  because  it  wished  to  change  pub- 
lic opinion,  sealed  letters  were  sent  to  the  members  of  the  two 
chambers  convoking  them  for  August  3.  Five  members  of  the 
council  spoke  of  the  danger  of  having  recourse  to  violent  and 
illegal  measures,  but  as  the  king,  by  interpreting  every  refusal  as  a 
sign  of  weakness  and  an  abandonment  of  himself  at  the  moment  of 
danger,  had  thus  transformed  the  cjuestion  of  state  into  one  of 
honor,  a  blind  feeling  of  devotion  was  alone  attended  to.  On  July 
26  the  Moniicur  published  an  explanation  drawn  up  by  Chantelauze, 
and  follow^ed  by  the  famous  decrees  signed  on  the  previous  evening, 
which  suppressed  the  liberty  of  the  press,  annulled  the  late  elections, 
and  arbitrarily  created  a  new  electoral  system.  A  prolonged  and 
sullen  murmur  spread  through  Paris  at  the  publication  of  these 
decrees,  and  on  the  following  day  there  appeared  in  the  opposition 
journals  an  energetic  protest,  signed  by  forty-three  of  their  principal 
contributors  or  editors,  among  whom  were  Remusat,  Thiers,  Mignet, 
Armand,  Carrel,  Bande,  and  Chatelain.  They  declared  that  they 
could  not  submit  to  illegal  decrees,  and  urged  the  deputies  to  resist 
them,  to  regard  themselves  as  legally  elected,  and  to  protest  with 
themselves.  Orders  were  given  for  the  destruction  of  their  presses, 
and  a  struggle  took  place  in  the  printing  offices,  which  was  s])eedily 
transferred  to  the  streets',  in  which  the  multitude  on  the  same  even- 
ing tore  down  the  insignia  of  monarchy,  with  the  cry  of  "  Ihe 
charter  forever!  "  and  improvised  numerous  barricades.  Paris  was 
declared  in  a  state  of  siege,  and  Marshal  jNIarmont,  Duke  of  Ragusa, 
who  was  placed  in  command  of  the  troops,  led  them  against  the  in- 
surgent populace,  occupied  all  the  strategical  points,  and  summoned 
additional  regiments  from  the  neighboring  garrisons.  But  already 
the  Hotel  de  Ville,  abandoned  by  the  two  prefects,  had  fallen  into 
the  hands  (jt  the  insurrectionists;  the  tricolor  was  raised  there,  and 
the  word  "  republic  "  was  echoed  again  and  again  by  the  excited 


C  II  A  R  L  E  S     X  391 

1830 

crowd.  A  portion  of  the  opposition  deputies  who  were  in  Paris, 
and  aniimj;-  whom  were  C'asimir  iV-ricr.  LalVittc.  I^afayetlc,  the  elder 
Dupin,  Charles  Dupin,  (uiizot.  X'illemain.  Sebastiani,  Benjamin  Con- 
stant, Salvertc,  l^iiraveau,  and  Manikin,  having  assembled  on  the 
morning-  (;f  tlie  jSth,  voted,  with  some  modilications,  a  declaration 
drawn  up  by  Guizot,  in  which  they  forcibly  protested  against  the 
decrees  of  the  26111,  and  declared  themselves  legally  elected  and  in- 
capable of  being  replaced  save  by  virtue  of  elections  conducted  ac- 
cording to  the  forms  ordained  by  the  law.  By  the  evening  of 
the  28th  the  whole  of  l^iris  with  the  exce])tion  of  the  quarter  of 
the  Louvre  and  the  Tuileries  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the 
insm;gcnts,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  day  following  the  dei)uties 
who  had  tlrawn  u])  the  protest  in  compliance  with  the  wishes  of  the 
chief  citizens  made  Lafayette  commander-in-chief  of  the  national 
guard,  and  nominated  a  municii)al  committee  charged  with  the  duty 
of  providing  for  the  safety  of  life  and  property,  and  of  providing 
for  the  government  of  the  city.  This  committee,  with  Lafayette 
and  his  staff,  immediately  took  ])(jssession  of  the  Hotel  de  Ville, 
where  it  installed  itself  in  the  midst  of  a  crowd  excited  by  victory, 
but  which  knew  how  t(j  rcs])cct  itself  by  prohibiting,  on  pain  of 
death,  devastation  and  pillage. 

On  the  m(»rning  of  the  29th  the  struggle  still  continued  in  the 
capital  with  all  that  increasing  auilacity  with  which  the  multitude 
had  been  inspired  by  the  success  of  the  previous  evening.  The 
Country  around  I'aris  had  ri.-eu  ;uul  cut  off  couinuinication  with  the 
city.  The  royal  army  was  devoid  of  the  necessary  supi)lies,  and 
as  it  received  neither  provisions  nor  reinforcements  was  much  dis- 
couraged. Iveduced  in  numbers  by  wounds,  death,  and  desertion, 
it  was  unable  to  maintain  iis  position  in  Paris.  The  Louvre,  which 
was  ill  defentled,  was  taken  by  the  people,  and  ]\Lirmont  ordered  a 
retreat  upon  Saint  Cluud.  wiiere  the  king  and  court  then  were. 
The  king  up  to  this  time  had  remained  inllexible  in  the  luidst  of 
tliose  who  eiUreated  him  to  revoke  his  fatal  decrees,  and  it  was  not 
until  Marniout  had  e\acuatetl  Paris  and  had  rea])peared  at  Saint 
Cloud  with  the  remains  of  his  l)attalions  that  Charles  X.  yielded, 
revoked  his  decrees  and  ordered  the  Duke  of  Alontemart  to  form  a 
ministry. 

But  it  was  too  late.  Too  much  blood  had  been  spilled  and  the 
municipal  committee  of  Paris  rejected  the  court's  overtures.  The 
danger  of  the  latter  grew  greater  every  hour.     Whole  regiments 


392  FRANCE 

1830 

appeared  in  the  ranks  of  the  insurgents,  and  Paris  was  preparing  to 
march  ujj-'H  Saint  Cliuul.  Dnring  the  night  of  July  29  Charles  X. 
retreated  10  V^ersailles.  There  was,  however,  much  reastjn  to  fear 
that  the  union  maintained  among  the  citizens  of  the  immense  capital 
during  the  conilict  would  be  broken  at  the  moment  of  selecting  a 
new  government.  Some  wished  to  establish  a  republic,  while 
others,  representing  the  immense  majority  of  the  citizens,  desired  to 
retain  a  monarchical  and  constitutional  government.  But  to  effect 
this  it  was  necessary  to  find  a  man  already  elevated  above  all  by 
his  private  position,  and  who  had  given  incontestable  pledges  of  his 
devotion  to  the  public  liberties.  Such  a  man  existed  in  the  person 
of  the  Duke  of  Orleans.  This  was  the  opinion  of  the  deputies  who 
had  spontaneously  assembled  at  the  Palais  Bourbon,  and,  at  the 
suggestion  of  Benjamin  Constant,  they  voted  a  declaration  to  the 
effect  that  his  royal  highness,  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  should  be 
requested  to  proceed  immediately  to  the  capital  for  the  purpose  of 
exercising  there  the  functions  of  lieutenant-general  for  the  kingdom. 
The  declaration  at  the  same  time  expressed  a  wish  that  the  colors 
raised  by  the  insurrectionists  should  be  retained  as  those  of  the 
nation.  A  deputation  which  was  appointetl  to  carry  this  declara- 
tion to  the  prince  at  the  chateau  of  Neuilly  did  not  find  him.  but  left 
their  message.  On  the  following  day  the  prince  entered  Paris.  Time 
pressed,  for  the  insurrectionary  movement  in  defense  of  the  charter 
was  rapidly  changing  into  an  agitation  in  favor  of  a  republic.  The 
next  day  (July  31)  the  duke  published  a  manifesto  to  the  French 
peo])le  ending  v^ith  the  words,  "  From  now  on,  the  charter  will  be 
a  reality."  The  conservative  class,  led  by  a  group  of  deputies, 
rallied  to  his  support,  and  the  duke,  betaking  himself  to  the  Hotel 
dc  \'ille.  won  over  Lafayette  and  put  an  end  to  the  republican 
m()\crnent. 

Meanwhile,  Charles  X.  had  gone  from  Versailles  to  Ram- 
bouillct,  but  threatened  by  the  revolutionary  army  advancing 
from  Paris,  he  decided  to  leave  France,  o-oiner  for  the  last  time  into 
exile.  On  August  16  he  embarked  at  Cherbourg  for  England. 
Before  fjuitting  I'rance,  Charles  sent  to  the  chambers  his  abdication 
and  that  of  tlie  dauphin,  his  son,  in  favor  of  the  Duke  of  Bordeaux, 
but  the  Duke  of  Orleans  concealed  the  latter  part  of  the  message, 
and  the  dcjnitics  called  to  the  throne  his  royal  highness,  Louis 
Philip  of  Orleans,  and  his  male  descendants  in  perpetuity.  The 
peers  immechatcly  assented  to  the  views  and  acts  of  the  other  cham- 


C  II  A  RLE  S     X  393 

1830 

bcr,  and  salvos  of  artillery  announced  the  royal  sittine;  nf  the 
morrow.  On  that  day.  Aug-ust  9.  1S30,  the  Duke  of  Orleans, 
accompanied  by  his  eldest  sons,  the  Dukes  of  Chartres  .and  of 
Nemours,  went  in  solemn  procession  to  the  Palais  Bourbon,  wlicre 
were  assembled  the  peers,  the  deputies,  the  dii)lomatic  corps,  and 
numerous  other  ])ersons,  and,  after  havinc;  formally  sworn  to  observe 
the  C(^nstitutional  cliarter  as  recently  modified,  ascendetl  the  thr(jne 
under  the  title  of  Louis  i'hilip  1.,  King  of  the  i'rench. 


Chapter  XXIV 

THE    MONARCHY    OF    THE     PROPERTY    CLASS 

1830-1838 

THE  government  of  Jul3%  threatened  as  it  was  by  so  many 
enemies  within,  had  also  declared  and  secret  enemies  in 
most  of  the  foreign  governments,  which  looked  upon  its 
establishment  as  a  danger  to  all  thrones.  Among  the  European 
powers  it  had  but  one  ally.  Great  Britain,  which  was  then  engaged 
in  the  great  question  of  parliamentary  reform,  and  whose  sym- 
pathies were  enlisted  in  favor  of  a  revolution  in  some  respects 
analogous  to  that  which  had  confirmed  its  own  liberties  and  power. 
The  new  monarchy  necessarily  derived  its  chief  strengtii  from  tlie 
middle  or  citizen  class,  which  found  in  the  charter  and  the  princi- 
ples avowed  by  the  new  government  the  faithful  expression  of  its 
wishes.  Enlightened  by  its  interests,  it  had  recognized  order  and 
security  as  the  very  conditions  of  its  existence.  All  powerful  in 
the  cities  and  towns  of  any  importance,  it  possessed  the  larger  por- 
tion of  the  movable  property  of  the  nation,  and  reckoned  among 
its  ranks  the  most  enlightened,  intelligent,  and  influential  men  of 
the  country.  It  loved  itself  in  the  man  of  its  choice,  in  the  able  and 
experienced  prince  whom  it  had  raised  to  the  throne,  and  the  new 
government,  which  took  for  its  motto,  Order,  Liberty  and  Peace, 
was  accepted  by  it  as  the  best  guarantee  against  the  spirit  of  revolu- 
tion and  of  conquest.  It  was  necessary  that  the  government  sliould 
be,  with  respect  to  domestic  affairs,  very  firm,  and  decidedly  opposed 
to  the  spirit  of  disorder  and  anarchy,  prompt  to  prevent  as  well  as 
to  restrain  the  acts  of  demagogues,  and  nevertheless  the  friend  of 
free  institutions  and  of  progress ;  very  sympathetic  with  respect  to 
the  lot  of  the  laboring  classes  and  deeply  anxious  to  ameliorate  their 
moral  and  physical  condition.  Its  task  with  respect  to  foreign 
nations  was  ecjually  complex,  for  it  was  requisite  that  it  should  be 
at  once  proufl  and  moderate,  liberal  and  vet  non-revolutionary, 
patriotic,  bold  and  yet  pacific.  The  dilTicultics  in  the  way  of  tlic  new 
government  were  immense,  but  its  safeguard  and  security  l;i}-  in 
its  resting  on  bases  as  large  as  possible  among  the  classes  more 

394. 


T II K    r  II  o  r  i:  k  ^r  v    c  i.  a  s  s  395 

1830 

particularly  intorcslcd  in  niaiiitainiiio;-  it — namely,  thoc  which  1830 
had  placed  in  i)(»sscssi(in  of  i)(i\vcr,  and  in  wlioni  was  the  real  focus 
of  puljhc  opinion.  The  charter,  fmallv,  could  not  become  a  reality 
if  the  country  did  not  take  a  genuine  share  in  the  conduct  of  its  own 
affairs,  and  if  the  t;'o\ernment  did  not  remain  faithful  to  its  prin- 
ciple and  mis'^ion.  Its  task  was  very  difficult  and  complicated,  and 
few  e\en  of  those  who  were  sincerely  attached  to  the  new  order  of 
thinc;s.  and  who.  after  having"  taken  part  in  establishing  it,  wished 
to  defend  it,  understood  its  full  extent.  Although  unanimous  with 
respect  to  the  end  to  be  attained,  they  were  not  so  with  respect  to  the 
me;ms. 

Some  considered  that  the  first  and  most  necessary  thing  to 
be  done  was  to  keep  di  iwn  the  revolutionary  spirit,  and  to  ojiijose 
to  demagogism  a  resistance  as  courageous  as  obstinate;  many  others, 
on  the  contrary,  saw  more  danger  in  resisting  the  current  than  in 
following  it.  The  policy  of  the  members  of  the  two  parties  was  also 
very  different  v^'ith  respect  to  the  relations  with  foreign  naticMis. 
Those  of  the  former  party,  seeing  Europe  disturbed  at  what  had 
taken  i)lace.  were  anximis  to  reassure  it  and  to  conciliate  its. various 
governments.  They  joined  with  the  king  in  desiring  the  main- 
tenance of  treaties  and  of  peace,  and  dreaded  a  revolutionary  propa- 
gandism.  the  inevitable  consequence  of  which  would  have  been  a 
general  conflagration  and  calamities  without  luunber.  The  latter, 
on  the  other  hand,  thought  that  the  France  of  July  was  called  upon 
to  support  insurrection  ex'crvuhere,  rmd  that  the  hour  had  come 
when,  relying  u])on  tlie  sym])athies  of  the  peojile,  a  striking  re\'enge 
should  be  taken  for  the  affronts  of  181 5.  These  two  tendencies,  in 
mail}-  respects  so  opjiosite,  caused  the  partisans  of  the  new  regime 
to  be  classified  as  the  men  of  resistance  and  the  tnen  of  luovement. 
The  opinions  of  the  hrst  were  donn'nant  in  the  two  chambers,  and 
were  those  also  of  the  (Ux'trinaires  who,  especially  at  this  period, 
added  to  the  great  p:irty  of  order  a  strength  as  considerable  as  it  was 
incontestable.  Chief  among  the  secoiul  were  some  of  the  ]irincipal 
leaders  of  the  old  left,  or  liberal  party.  Dupont  de  I'lun-e,  Jaccpies 
Laffitte,  Salverte,  I'enjamin  Constant,  etc.  One  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished of  them  was  Odillon  I'.arrot,  a  brilliant  orator,  wlu^ 
was  destined  to  become  the  chief  i^i  a  jjowerful  \):\v{\  in  the  parlia- 
mentary opposition.  At  tlieir  head,  finally,  was  (leneral  F.afavette, 
the  c(Mnmandei'-in-chief  of  llie  national  guards,  l.ouis  Phih'ii,  at 
the  cununencement  of  his  reign,  disjjlayed  much  ability  in  selecting 


396  FRANCE 

1830 

the  most  innucntial  members  of  these  two  parties  to  form  his  conii- 
ciL  Tlic  men  of  resistance  were  the  more  numerous  in  the  first 
council  preside!  over  by  thie  king-,  in  which,  by  tlie  side  of  Dupont 
de  rEure,  the  keeper  of  tlie  seals,  sat  Mole  as  minister  for  foreig^n 
affairs,  Guizot.  minister  of  tlie  interior,  and  Broglie,  minister  of 
public  iiLstruction  and  worship.  The  existence  of  this  ministry  was 
brief  and  agitated,  but  it  provided  with  intelligence  and  courage  for 
the  necessities  of  tlie  moment.  At  its  suggestion  one  hundred  mil- 
lions of  francs  were  \-oted  by  the  chambers  to  be  distributed  among 
workmen,  and  they  voted  a  credit  of  thirty  millions  as  a  guarantee 
for  loans  and  advances  to  persons  engaged  in  commerce.  Other 
urgent  laws  were  prepared  and  the  cabinet  at  the  same  time  carried 
on  active  negotiations  wdth  foreign  powers.  Success  crowned  its 
efforts  and  the  new^  monarchy  was  recognized  by  all  the  powers. 
A  very  serious  event,  however,  occurred  to  place  the  peace  of 
Europe  in  peril.  Belgium,  united  to  the  Dutch  territory  by  the 
treaties  of  1815,  had  severed  its  connection  with  Holland.  King 
William  having  demanded  the  assistance  of  the  Prussian  troops  to 
reduce  his  revolted  subjects  to  obedience,  Mole  put  forward  the 
doctrine  of  non-intervention  and  checked  the  advance  of  the  Prus- 
sian army  by  declaring  that  if  it  set  foot  on  the  Belgian  territory  the 
French  army  would  enter  it  also.  To  prevent  a  European  war  the 
great  powers  thereupon  agreed  to  decide  between  Holland  and  Bel- 
gium. A  conference  took  place  for  this  purpose  in  London  and 
Louis  Philip  sent  Talleyrand  to  represent  France.  While  the  posi- 
tion of  affairs  was  thus  disturbed  abroad,  it  was  still  more  alarming 
at  home.  A  petition  for  the  abolition  of  capital  punishment  had 
been  |)resented  to  the  chamber  of  deputies,  and  the  chamber  had 
sanctioned  the  wish  that  it  expressed.  Popular  outbreaks  followed 
in  many  parts  of  Paris  in  consequence  of  a  rumor  having  got  abroad 
that  this  petition  had  been  got  up  by  the  government  for  the  pur- 
pose of  saving  Polignac  and  other  ministers  of  Charles  X.,  who  had 
been  imiirisoned  in  Vincennes  and  were  awaiting-  their  trial  before 
the  court  o]  ])eers.  The  prefect  of  the  Seine,  Odillon  Barrot,  cen- 
sured the  vole  of  the  de])uties  in  favor  of  the  abolition  of  capital 
punishment  as  injudicious,  and,  when  threatened  with  deprivation 
of  his  oflice,  v.as  supported  by  several  of  the  ministers  in  (Opposition 
to  their  colleagues.  There  was  discord,  therefore,  in  the  highest 
regions  of  power,  and  Paris  was  in  a  state  of  partial  insurrection 
when  the  trial  of  the  ministers  was  about  to  commence.     The  king, 


THE    propi:rtv    n. ass  got 

1830 

in  these  critical  circumstances  perceived  the  necessity  of  havinq-  re- 
course to  men  possessed  of  great  pojinlarity  for  tlie  ])urpose  of  resist- 
ing the  popular  torrent,  and  accepting::  therefore  the  resii;nation  nf 
BrogHe,  Guizot  and  T.ouis.  Xovcmbcr.  1830,  he  made  Laflitte  min- 
ister of  finance  and  president  of  the  council.  In  spite,  however,  of 
the  changes  in  the  ministry,  while  the  trial  of  Polignac  and  liis  col- 
leagues lasted,  disturbances  in  Paris  continued  to  rage  v.itli  a  feroc- 
ity which  called  to  mind  the  most  fatal  days  of  the  revolution. 
Calm  in  the  midst  of  this  frightful  crisis  and  unaniuK^isly  refusing 
to  pass  a  capital  sentence,  the  court  of  peers  C(Midemned  Polignac  to 
transportation  and  his  three  colleagues  to  perpetual  imprisonment. 
Put  a  savage  mob  demanded  their  heads  and  threatened  to  inllict 
the  most  desperate  outrages  on  tlic  prisoners  and  their  judges,  and 
its  rage  was  with  difficulty  held  in  check  by  the  national  guard. 
The  minister  of  the  interior  and  General  Lafayette  were  i'orcmost 
in  striving  to  defend  the  condemned  men.  and  hir  this  inu'posc  nobly 
risked  their  lives.  Their  efforts  were  successful;  Paris  was  i)rc- 
served  from  the  horrors  of  a  new  second  of  September,  and  the  con- 
demned ministers  were  conveyetl  from  Vincennes  to  the  castle  of 
I  lam  to  undergo  their  punishment. 

During  the  short  existence  of  this  ministry  the  chambers  passed 
the  most  liberal  and  popular  laws  of  the  new  reign.  One  law 
decorated  the  citizens  who  had  particularly  distingui.shed  themselves 
in  the  days  of  July,  and  others  submitted  offenses  committed 
by  the  j^ress  to  the  judgment  of  ;i  jury,  rendered  the  munici- 
pal councils  electi\c  and  ga\e  a  new  organization  to  the  national 
guard.  This  latter  law  confided  arms  to  everyone  without  distinc- 
tion and  rendered  tlie  appointment  of  most  of  the  i^fticers  a  mere 
matter  of  election,  without  any  interference  on  tlie  part  of  the  crown, 
and  thus  created  a  great  danger  to  the  crown. 

Italy  fell  into  a  state  of  insurrection,  and  the  Pope  had  already 
lost  a  great  portion  of  his  provinces  when,  being  threatened  them- 
selves with  the  loss  of  their  Pombard  and  Venetian  possessions,  the 
Austrians  hastened  to  interfere,  stilled  the  insurrection,  and  re- 
established the  shaken  tin-one.  .\bont  the  same  time  an  insuri'ection 
burst  forth  in  Toland  and  almost  the  whole  oi  the  Russian  kingdom 
of  P(~)land  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  insui'geiil  nation.  The  ducliv 
of  Warsaw  and  its  capital  believed  that  thev  were  freed,  and  tlie 
dethronement  of  the  Komano\s  was  shortly  afterwards  declared  by 
the  diet.     In  Prance  these  great  events  were  sympathized  with  by 


896  FRANCE 

1830-1831 

almost  all  classes  of  the  population.  The  revolutionary  party  loudly 
demanded  that  France  should  simultaneously  oppose  Russia — which 
was  now  preparing  to  fall  upon  Poland — Austria,  the  conference 
in  London,  and  the  Pope.  It  loudly  demanded  war  at  a  time  when 
France  had  only  a  disorganized  army,  when  its  finances  were  in  the 
worst  possihle  state  and  when  its  credit  was  at  the  lowest  ebb.  It 
is  to  the  honor  of  Louis  Philip  that  he  energetically  opposed  this 
dangerous  course,  and  while  he  did  liis  duty  by  negotiating  in  favor 
of  the  Poles,  he  abstained  from  threatening  demonstrations,  which, 
to  have  been  effectual,  must  have  been  followed  by  the  revolutionary 
measures  of  a  sinister  epoch.  Popular  discontent  burst  forth  with 
renewed  violence  in  Paris  on  February  14,  1831,  on  the  celebration 
of  a  funeral  service  for  the  Duke  of  Berry  at  Saint-Germain  I'Auxer- 
rois  by  a  great  number  of  the  partisans  of  the  late  regime,  who  now 
began  to  be  commonly  called  legitimists.  The  ceremony  proved 
the  means  of  exciting  a  fierce  riot,  which  the  authorities  were  slow 
to  suppress.  The  next  day  the  church  and  the  sacristy  were  shame- 
fully pillaged,  and  the  archbishop's  palace  was  destroyed.  The 
chambers,  justly  indignant,  held  the  government  and  the  municipal 
authorities  responsible  for  these  barbarous  acts,  and  the  two  prefects 
of  Paris,  Baude  and  Odillon  Barrot,  were  deprived  of  their  offices. 
At  the  same  time  the  deputies  opened  the  way  for  the  formation 
of  a  new  chamber  by  remodeling  the  Electoral  Law.  This  law 
abolished  the  double  vote,  reduced  the  amount  of  taxes,  the  pay- 
ment of  which  qualified  a  man  to  be  eligible  as  a  member  of  the 
chamber  of  deputies,  to  five  hundred  francs,  and  gave  the  electoral 
vote  to  all  who  paid  two  hundred. 

The  scenes  which  had  taken  place  in  Paris  were  repeated  in 
many  of  the  departments,  and  to  many  causes  of  discontent,  trouble 
and  disquietude  were  added  those  arising  from  the  alarming  state 
of  the  finances.  On  the  eve  of  the  dissolution  of  the  chamber  and 
the  cabinet,  Laffitte  demanded  a  supplementary  credit  of  two  hun- 
dred millions  for  the  purpose  of  miceting  the  extraordinary  necessi- 
ties of  the  state,  and  this  supply  he  obtained  only  with  much  diffi- 
culty at  the  hands  of  an  uneasy  and  angry  majority.  This  and 
other  circumstances,  especially  the  disturbed  state  of  Paris  and  the 
principal  cities  of  the  kingdom,  which  paralyzed  commerce  and 
industry,  caused  the  king  to  dismiss  Laffitte  and  his  colleagues  and 
intrust  the  formation  of  a  new  ministry  to  Casimir  Pcrier,  March 
II,  1831.     In  this  cabinet,  which  was  presided  over  by  Perier  as 


THE     r  R  O  P  E  R  T  Y     C  LASS  309 

1831 

minister  of  the  interior,  the  {irincijKil  |)()rtfolios — tliosc  of  justice, 
foreign  affairs,  war  and  finance— were  confided  to  luirthe,  vScbas- 
tiani,  Soult  and  Baron  Louis.  Perier  laid  before  the  chambers  a 
statement  of  the  pohcy  he  intended  to  jiursue ;  demanded  a  vote  of 
confidence  for  the  ptu'pose  of  enabling  liim  to  pass  the  provisional 
clauses  of  the  budget,  and  with  their  concurrence  took  energetic 
measures  for  tlie  recstablisliinent  of  equilibrium  in  the  finances 
and  peace  in  the  streets.  The  chamber  was  dissolved  on  April 
30  and  the  ekctoral  colleges  convoked  for  the  followdng  month 
of  July. 

The  foreign  policy  of  the  government  at  this  period  as  enun- 
ciated by  Perier  was  strictly  one  of  non-intervention,  based  on 
the  principle  that  foreigners  have  no  right  to  interfere  by  force  in 
a  nation's  internal  affairs.  This  policy,  which  was  also  that  of  the 
king,  was  followed  with  firmness  to  central  Italy  after  the  failure 
of  the  insurrection,  when  I-'rench  dii)lomacy,  adding  its  efforts  to 
those  of  the  other  powers,  obtained  from  the  new  Pope,  Gregory 
XVL,  a  formal  engagement  to  intrcxlucc  into  his  states  many  neces- 
sary reforms  which  had  been  long  ardently  desired,  and  persuaded 
the  Austrian  government  to  withdraw  its  troops  from  Italian  terri- 
tory. It  was  necessary,  however,  to  have  recourse  to  arms  in 
Portugal,  where  the  usur])er  Don  Miguel  had  ill-treated  hVcnch 
subjects.  All  satisfaction  having  been  refused  to  the  French  consul. 
Admiral  Roussin,  under  the  fire  of  the  Portuguese  cannon,  forced 
the  mouth  of  the  Tagus.  dcstn\vc(l  the  batteries  of  the  forts,  and 
by  this  brilliant  feat  obtained  for  the  French  arms  a  complete  rep- 
aration for  their  rc\erscs. 

The  great  question  pending  between  Holland  and  P)elgium  kept 
a  portion  of  western  luiropc  in  continual  disriuict.  Belgium,  accord- 
ing U)  the  decision  of  the  conference,  surrendered  to  Holland  a  i)or- 
tion  of  Limburg  and  Luxemburg,  which  was  an  hereditarv  piX'^ses- 
sion  of  the  IIr)use  of  Nassau,  and  which  formed,  morever.  a  pnv- 
tion  of  the  Germanic  confederation,  and  had  taken  on  itself  halt 
the  national  debt  of  the  previously  united  countries,  on  which  terms 
its  independence  was  recognized.  The  crown  of  Ijelgium  was  first 
offered  to  the  Duke  of  Xeniours,  the  second  son  of  Ltniis  Philip, 
but  as  his  father  declined  to  allow  him  to  accept  it,  the  flelgians 
elected  as  their  king  LeopMJd.  Prince  of  ("<iburg.  who  had  been  heir- 
presum])tive  to  the  Fnglish  throne.  The  marriage  of  that  monarch 
in  the  course  of  the  following  year  with  the  eldest  daughter  of  the 


400  FRANCE 

1S31 

King-  of  the  Frcncli  doubly  strengthened  the  alliance  between  France 
and  Belgium. 

Leopold  had  scarcely  accepted  the  crown  when  King  William, 
refusing  to  acknowledge  the  armistice,  marched  upon  Louvain. 
Leopold  in  this  extremity  demanded  the  aid  of  France,  and  Marshal 
Gerard  immediately  entered  Belgium  at  the  head  of  an  army  of  fifty 
thousand  men,  before  wliom  the  Dutch  army  fell  back  without  fight- 
ing. Belgium  was  thus  a  second  time  saved  by  France,  and  three 
months  later,  on  November  15,  a  treaty  called  the  "  Treaty  of  the 
Twentv-I^'our  Articles,"  regulating  in  a  definite  and  irrevocable  man- 
ner the  separation  of  the  two  kingdoms,  was  signed  by  Belgium,  and 
the  conference  guaranteed  to  the  King  of  the  Belgians  the  execution 
of  its  clauses.  At  the  same  time  France  obtained  from  the  four 
other  great  powers  the  demolition  of  the  fortresses  of  Menin,  Ath, 
Philipville,  Mons  and  Marienburg,  maintained  since  181 5  as  a 
barrier  against  France.  The  treaty,  however,  was  not  accepted  by 
the  King  of  Holland,  whose  troops  occupied  Antwerp,  and  peace 
was  not  yet  reestablished. 

The  legislative  session  had  been  open  in  Paris  from  the  com- 
mencement of  hostilities.  The  chamber  passed,  among  other  finan- 
cial laws,  one  which  fixed  the  civil  list  for  the  reign  at  twelve  mil- 
lions, an  amount  less  by  more  than  one-half  than  that  of  the  previous 
civil  list.  But  the  chief  business  of  the  session  was  the  revision  of 
the  article  of  the  charter  relating  to  the  peerage,  which  was  changed 
from  an  hereditary  one  into  one  for  life,  and  although  the  crown 
preserved  the  right  of  nominating  its  members,  it  could  only  select 
them  from  certain  classes. 

The  chamber  had  sat  for  some  weeks  only  when  great  excite- 
ment was  produced  throughout  France  by  the  fall  of  Warsaw.  A 
general  cry  in  favor  of  assisting  her  arose  in  Paris,  and  the  public 
wish  became  manifested  iii  noisy  demonstrations  which  soon  became 
seditious  and  which  had  to  be  suppressed  by  force.  The  agitation 
produced  by  the  affairs  of  Poland  was  not  calmed  when  a  formida- 
ble insurrection  broke  out  in  Lyons,  caused  by  a  great  depression 
in  the  silk  trade,  which  threw  eighty  thousand  operatives  out  of 
work  and  deprived  lliem  of  the  means  of  subsistence.  The  insur- 
rection was  suppressed  by  force,  but  no  measures  were  taken  by  the 
government  to  relic\e  the  suffering  workmen  and  their  families. 

Although  the  sni)pression  of  the  revolt  in  Lyons  tended  to 
strengthen  the  ministry,   riumcrous  conspiracies  were  now  set  on 


THE     PROPERTY     CLASS  401 

1831-1832 

foot  ill  I'aris  for  tlie  restoration  of  tlie  rej)iiblic,  tlic  cmj^irc  and  tl:c 
eldest  brancli  (^f  tlic  l)Oiirbons.  Inn  the  cnerc^y  of  tlic  n;overnnient 
enabletj  it  to  triunipli  over  all  these  pKits,  and  its  attention  was 
speedily  cadled  to  foreii^n  affairs  in  resj)ect  lo  llaly. 

The  promises  exacted  from  the  Pontillcal  government  had  not 
been  kept,  and  no  reform  had  been  made  in  an  administration  wliich 
was  arbitrary,  oppressive  and  absolute.  The  irritated  people  a£:;ain 
rose  in  the  l^ontifical  states,  and  the  Austrians,  having  been  called 
to  his  aid  by  Gregory  XVL,  took  possession  of  Bologna.  The 
]''rcnch  go\'ernment.  indignant  at  finding  its  interxcntion  despised 
and  the  most  formal  engagements  ignored,  resolved  to  enforce  by 
arms  in  central  Italy  the  jjrinciple  of  non-intervention.  A  naval 
division  carrying  troops,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Combes, 
was  ordered  to  proceed  to  and  take  possession  of  Ancona.  This 
order  was  rapidly  executed,  and  on  February  2.1  the  city  of  Ancona, 
with  its  citadel,  was  in  the  hands  of  the  I'^rench. 

By  this  bold  act  of  aggression  Casimir  Pcrier  provoked  not  only 
the  anger  of  the  court  of  Rome,  but  the  loud  remonstrances  of  the 
other  European  powers.  The  occupatitm  of  Ancona,  however,  was 
popular  in  France.  The  chambers  approved  the  act  of  the  min- 
ister, and  the  bitter  complaints  made  against  the  governinent  al)road 
strengthened  it  at  home.  Idie  Vendee  was  at  this  time  the  scene  of 
sanguinary  disturbances,  and  in  Marseilles  an  attempt  at  insurrec- 
tion, instigated  by  the  legitimists,  who  were  agitating  in  the  south 
for  the  jnirpose  of  raising  the  Duke  of  Bordeaux  to  the  throne,  had 
been  suppressed  (April,  1832),  when  the  cholera  appeared  in  l^iris, 
where  it  made  great  ravages.  It  carried  off  Casimir  Perier  in  May, 
1832,  and  to  all  the  private  causes  for  mourning  there  was  thus 
added  a  great  public  one.  The  legislati\e  session,  which  closed  a 
few  days  before  his  death,  left  France  in  a  ])recarious  and  disturbed 
state,  but  at  least  insj^ired  with  the  salutary  ctnniction  that  a  general 
war  might  be  ax'oided,  and  that  the  demon  of  civil  war,  revolt  and 
anarchy  was  not  iinincible. 

The  death  of  Casimir  Peiier  altered  but  very  slightlv  tlie  com- 
positi(jn  of  the  cabinet,  in  which  Montalivet.  who  gave  u[)  the 
portfolio  of  public  instruction  to  Cicrartl.  became  minister  of  the 
interior.  The  situation  of  the  countrv  was  serious;  and  its  perils, 
as  well  as  the  faults  which  had  been  committed,  were  jiointed  out 
with  much  bitterness  in  a  document  celelirated  under  the  name  of 
the  couiptc-rcndu,  which  was  signed  by  the  deputies  of  the  opposi- 


402  FRANCE 

1832 

tion.  W'lint  was  true  in  this  document  was  misconstrncted  and 
did  not  bear  fruit,  and  what  was  false  and  dangerous  in  it  did 
much  harm.  The  comptc-rcndu  inflamed  the  popular  passions  to 
the  highest  point,  and  hastened,  perhaps,  the  explosion  of  a  re- 
publican insurrection  which  placed  the  monarchy  in  the  great- 
est peril. 

After  the  death  of  Casimir  Perier  hope  returned  to  the  parties 
which  had  been  held  in  check  by  his  vigorous  hand.  They  became 
eager  to  try  their  strength  once  more ;  and  they  found  an  oppor- 
tunity of  doing  so  at  the  funeral  ceremony  of  General  Lamarque, 
whose  obsequies  attracted,  on  June  5,  1832,  an  immense  concourse 
of  persons,  most  of  whom  came  armed.  An  insurrection  suddenly 
burst  forth  to  the  cries  of  "  Down  with  Louis  Philip !  "  "  Long  live 
the  republic!"  and  it  was  not  until  after  a  severe  struggle,  which 
lasted  till  the  evening  of  June  6,  that  it  was  suppressed. 

At  this  time  civil  w'ar  burst  forth  in  the  west,  excited  by  the 
presence  of  the  Duchess  of  Berry.  This  was  speedily  repressed  by 
force  and  the  duchess  herself  was  betrayed  at  Nantes  and  im- 
prisoned in  the  citadel  of  Blaye,  where  she  gave  birth  to  a  child. 
On  this  her  marriage  with  Luchesi  Palli,  a  Neapolitan  marquis, 
Avas  made  ])ublic,  and  the  duchess  w^as  liberated  as  being  no  longer 
worth  detention.  To  all  these  causes  of  agitation  and  alarm  w^ere 
added  great  anxiety  wdth  respect  to  the  opposition  made  by  the 
King  of  the  Netherlands  to  the  Treaty  of  the  Twenty-Four  Articles. 
It  was  proposed  to  deprive  the  Dutch  of  the  citadel  of  Antwerp 
and  some  fortresses  which  were  still  occupied  by  their  troops,  and 
France  and  England  agreed  to  act  in  concert  in  this  measure,  and 
overcome  tlie  king's  resistance  by  force. 

In  the  presence  of  so  many  perils  the  new  monarchy  had  more 
than  ever  need  of  the  strength  derived  from  unity  of  opinion  among 
the  moderate  men  of  all  parties,  and  the  recognized  necessity  of 
this  led  to  the  formation  of  the  ministry  of  October,  ICS32.  in 
which,  under  Marshal  Soult  as  the  nominal  head,  the  most  eminent 
of  the  doctrinaires,  Broglie  and  Guizot,  were  united  with  some 
very  important  members  of  the  left  center,  Thiers,  Barthe,  and 
Humann.  The  new  ministry  pursued  the  same  policy  as  Casimir 
Perier,  and  tlie  particular  characteristic  of  their  administration  was 
a  steady  resistance  made  to  the  legitimist  party  on  the  one  hand  and 
the  re\  (jhitif)nary  demag(\gues  on  the  other. 

1  he  foreign  policy  of  the  ministry  was  wanting  neither  in  force 


T  1 1  i:     PROP  E  R  '1^  \'     CLASS  403 

1832-1834 

nor  dignity.  The  gr)vci'nnicnt  everywhere  sliowcd  itself,  in  a  just 
and  moderate  manner,  favorable  lo  the  constitntional  canse,  while 
it  avoided  putting  the  peace  of  T'-urope  in  jicril.  and  with  tins  object 
strengthened  its  alliance  with  England.  In  accordance  with  the 
arrangement  already  entered  into  with  that  power,  a  hrench  army 
entered  Belgium  and  laid  siege  to  Antwerp,  which  capitulated  in 
December,  1832.  and  was  handed  over  to  the  Belgian  government. 
In  Spain  the  goverimient  pronn'sed  assistance,  if  necessary,  to 
]\Iaria  Christina,  the  widcjw  of  the  late  King  l-^erdinand  VII..  in 
defense  of  the  rights  of  the  Infanta  Isabella,  tlicn  two  vcars  old, 
against  Don  Carlos,  her  uncle  and  rix'al  to  the  throne,  and  in  Portu- 
gal lent  support  to  the  cause  of  the  young  Oucen  Donna  Maria 
against  her  uncle  Don  ?^Iigucl,  by  partici])ating  in  a  treaty  with 
England.  Sp:iin.  and  Portugrd,  by  which  the  Regent  of  Portugal 
and  the  Queen-Regent  of  Spain  undertook  to  unite  their  efforts  for 
the  expulsion  ni  Don  Carlos  and  Don  Miguel.  The  King  of  Great 
Ih'itain  and  the  King  r)f  the  h^rcnch  jM'omiscd  to  assist  towards 
this  end  in  a  defined  and  limited  manner.  Such  was  the  famous 
Treatv  of  tlic  (Juadruple  .\lliance.  wliich  was  signed  in  April,  i!^34. 
between  the  four  constitutional  courts  of  the  west. 

In  the  I'^ast.  ll)rahim  Pasha,  the  son  of  Mchemct  Ali,  pasha  of 
Egypt,  who  had  revolted  against  his  suzerain,  the  Sultan  of  'I'ur- 
kcy.  had  occupied  the  whole  of  S}-ria  and  defeated  the  Tm-ki>h 
troops  at  Konieh.  The  sultan  appealed  to  Russia  for  aid,  but 
France  and  England  induced  Ibrahim  to  desist  from  further  attacks 
on  Turkey,  in  c^isidcrati'in  i-^f  tlic  annexation  of  Syria  to  Egypt. 
After  tlic  withdrawal  of  the  Russian  licet,  which  had  been  sent  into 
the  Bosphorus,  it  became  known  that  a  secret  treaty  had  been  con- 
cluded at  L'nkiar-Skelessi  (July,  1S33),  between  the  Ottoman  Porte 
and  Russia.  l)y  which  the  .Sultan  midertook.  in  return  for  the  Czar's 
perpetual  protection,  to  close  the  Dardanelles  against  all  foreign 
sh.ips  of  war.  hjigland  and  b'rance  vehemently  protested  against 
this  treaty,  and  being  supported  by  An>tr!a.  forced  the  Czar  to 
refrain  from  availing  himself  of  the  advantages  exacted  by  the 
convention   from  the  weakness  of  tlie  .^nltan. 

The  cabinet  of  October  11.  1833,  sn])])ortcd  by  a  majority  in 
each  of  the  two  chambers,  procured  the  ad'iption  of  some  useful 
and  important  laws  din'ing  the  yeai"s  1S33  and  1S34.  d'he  finances 
were  restored  to  a  regular  .^tate  and  an  excellent  law  was  intro- 
duced by  Guizot  and  passed,  providing  h'r  jirimary  instruction  for 


404  FRANCE 

1834 

children  in  every  commune  of  France;  but  as  this  at  first  sHghtly 
increased  the  communal  taxes,  the  poor  country  population  looked 
upon  it  rather  as  a  new  charge  than  a  decided  benefit.  The  working- 
classes  still  suffered  from  the  disorder  in  industrial  and  commercial 
affairs  caused  bv  the  revolution  in  1830,  and  their  discontent  with 
the  existing  state  of  affairs  was  materially  increased  and  sustained 
by  the  action  of  the  secret  societies,  w-hich  were  for  the  most  part 
born  of  the  revolution  of  1830.  The  chief  of  these  was  the  Society 
of  the  Rights  of  Man,  whose  chief  aim  was  the  establishment  of 
the  republic  of  1792.  These  societies  were  closely  connected  with 
editorial  committees  of  the  democratic  journals,  against  which 
the  government  brought  a  multitude  of  actions,  in  which  it  was 
not  always  successful ;  and  they  seemed  to  derive  an  increased  bold- 
ness, as  well  from  the  judgments  which  condemned  their  conductors 
as  from  those  which  acquitted  them. 

The  popular  passions  were  influenced  by  the  expressions  of 
hatred  and  fury  of  parties,  not  only  in  the  journals,  but  also  in 
a  multitude  of  cynical  pamphlets,  which  were  cried  in  the  public 
streets  and  distributed  by  tens  of  thousands  under  the  protection  of 
the  law.  It  was  necessary  to  modify  the  existing  state  of  the  law 
on  this  point,  and  the  chambers  passed  a  law  which  submitted  the 
profession  of  crier  and  seller  of  writings  on  the  public  ways  to  the 
surveillance  of  the  municipal  authorities.  The  government  also 
submitted  to  tlie  chambers  another  preventive  law,  which  forbade 
the  existence  of  any  association  for  religious,  political,  or  other 
purposes,  unless  sanctioned  by  a  government  license,  which  was 
always  revocable.  This  law  could  not  toucli  secret  societies,  while 
it  overstepped  its  object  by  depriving  peaceable  citizens  of  natural 
and  vital  liberty  and  seriously  attacked  the  liberty  of  w^orship 
granted  by  the  charter.  .Having  been  adopted  on  INIarch  25  by  the 
deputies,  it  passed  the  chamber  of  peers  on  April  9,  1834.  But 
during  this  short  interval  an  unexpected  vote  of  the  deputies  had 
led  to  important  modifications  in  the  composition  of  the  cabinet, 
without  altering  either  its  tendency  or  course  of  action.  This  vote 
was  caused  by  the  presentation  of  a  proposal  for  the  payment  of  an 
indemnity  demanded  by  the  United  States  for  Aiuerican  vessels 
captured  during  the  empire,  and  which  had  1)cen  fixed  in  1831  at 
twenty-five  millions  by  a  treaty  executed  between  France  and 
America.  A  porticju  of  tlie  oi)position,  nevertheless,  denounced  the 
proposal  as  an  act  of  weakness,  and  it  was  rejected  by  a  majority 


THE     P  R  O  P  i:  II  T  V     r  T,  A  S  S  405 

1834 

of  eight.  De  Broglie,  the  minister  for  forei,[^n  affairs,  would  v.>>i 
.submit  to  (his  rcliulT,  and  rcsii^ncd  ]i:s  ])r)rlfolio.  lie  was  siurccdc  d 
by  A(hniral  kii;ii)-;  'liners,  while  retaining  the  portfcjlio  of  pnblic 
wc;rks,  became  nnnisler  of  ilie  nilerioi';  Duchatel  had  the  [)orllolio 
of  trade;  and  Persil  replaced  ]'artlie  as  minister  of  justice. 

Everything  now  conspired  to  bring  about  a  hnal  struggle  with 
the  republicans,  who  were  indignant  at  the  indefinite  and  fatal 
adjournment  of  many  popular  measures  which  had  been  promised 
in  principle  by  the  charter  of  1830,  and  at  the  neglect  of  many  others 
which  had  been  extt)llc(l  by  the  men  now  in  [jower.  Imbued  as 
they  were  with  the  princii)le  that  the  so\ereigmy  properly  resided  in 
the  peoj)le,  they  regarded  the  new  power  as  v.n  usurjied  power 
which  the  people  had  not  been  called  upon  to  s;inction.  1die  strug- 
gle commenced  in  1834  in  the  departments.  Lyons  and  many  other 
cities,  such  as  Saint  luienne.  Clermont,  l-'erand,  Vicnne,  Chalons, 
Artois,  Luneville,  Grenoble,  and  Marseilles,  were  almo>t  simul- 
taneously the  theaters  of  insurrections  or  serious  disturbances.  In 
every  direction  the  branches  of  the  secret  societies  ga\e  the  signal 
for  revolution,  calling  all  the  enemies  of  the  goxernment  to  arms. 
In  Lyons  a  reduction  in  the  wages  of  the  workmen,  made  by  some 
of  the  master-manufacturers,  caused  a  strike,  and  the  arrest  of 
the  ringleaders  emboldened  the  re])ub]icans  to  make  an  attempt  to 
secure  the  city.  Barricades  were  erected  and  it  was  only  after  a 
struggle  which  lasted  for  five  days  that  the  revolt  was  (juelled.  It 
had  been  vanquished,  indeed,  in  all  the  de|)artments.  when  it  ap- 
peared in  Paris,  where  it  hatl  already  lost  its  principal  leaders.  On 
April  13  the  signal  was  given  for  the  attack,  and  the  repuljlicans 
opened  fire  on  the  military,  ddie  conlhct,  which  was  intrejiidly 
maintained  by  the  nationa.l  guard  and  the  troops  of  the  line,  wh<~) 
were  brigaded  together  under  tliC  orders  of  Mar>hal  Loban,  lasted 
two  (lavs,  and  on  A])ril  14  the  insurrection  was  put  down  in  Paris. 
Manv  jirisoners  had  been  made  in  all  the  cities  in  which  it  had 
burst  forth,  and,  as  their  guilty  atteini)ts  all  referred  to  one  vast 
conspiracy,  their  trial  was  referred  to  the  court  of  peers,  'fo  pre- 
vent the  recurrence  of  similar  attem])ts  the  government  presented 
to  the  chambers  the  jn-ojects  of  two  laws,  which  were  jxassed  in  the 
following  session,  one  of  which  increased  the  strength  of  the  armv. 
while  the  other  prohibited  the  possession  of  arms  and  munitions  of 
war.  -\  few  da\s  afterwards  the  session  \\as  brought  to  a  close, 
and  the  chamber  of  deputies  was  dissolved.     11, e  government  lixetl 


406  FRANCE 

1834 

June  21  for  the  general  election,  which  resulted  in  the  return  of 
but  few  openly-declared  republicans,  while  twenty  legitimists,  in- 
chiding  Berryer.  were  sent  to  the  new  chamber,  and  the  ranks  of 
the  conservati\e  party  were  considerably  augmented  in  point  of 
number,  but  weakened  through  the  want  of  that  unanimity  of 
opinion  which  had  hitherto  prevailed  among  the  members  of  this 
party. 

The  state  of  Algeria  gave  rise,  immediately  after  the  elec- 
tions of  1834,  to  a  fresh  ministerial  modification,  the  real  cause 
of  which  was  the  want  of  a  good  understanding  between  Marshal 
Soult,  the  president  of  the  council,  and  its  most  influential  and  elo- 
quent members,  Guizot  and  Thiers.  The  entirely  military  nature  of 
the  government  of  the  French  possessions  in  Africa,  which  was  ob- 
stinately defended  by  Marshal  Soult,  the  minister  of  war  and  presi- 
dent of  the  cabinet,  had  given  rise  to  numerous  abuses,  and  in 
the  eyes  of  many  the  moment  seemed  to  have  come  when  it  ought 
to  be  replaced  by  a  civil  administration.  This  opinion  was  that  of 
Thiers  and  Guizot,  as  well  as  of  the  majority  of  the  members  of 
the  council.  The  marshal,  persisting  in  his  views,  tendered  his 
resignation  July  18,  1834.  The  king  accepted  it  and  appointed  as 
his  successor  Marshal  Gerard,  one  of  the  most  eminent  members 
of  a  body  in  the  chamber  which  now  began  to  be  known  as  the 
"  Third  Party,  "  and  which  was  composed  of  conservatives  who 
thought  the  policy  advocated  by  the  party  of  resistance  was  too  ir- 
ritating and  dangerous  to  be  persisted  in,  and,  while  they  were 
averse  to  the  opinions  expressed  by  the  party  of  progress,  thought 
it  was  time  to  initiate  conciliatory  measures  and  endeavor  to  effect 
a  compromise  between  the  ardent  and  irreconcilable  views  and  de- 
sires of  the  other  parties.  The  elections  of  1834  raised  the  numer- 
ical state  of  the  third  party  to  eighty  deputies, 

j\Iarshal  Gerard  thought  that  the  time  had  come  for  the  declar- 
ation of  a  general  amnesty.  He  had  always  expressed  a  wish  that 
it  might  be  granted  and,  now  that  he  had  become  the  head  of  the 
caljinet,  he  insisted  upon  obtaining  it,  being  in  this  supported  by 
the  third  party,  but  opposed  by  the  majority  in  the  council  and  the 
two  chambers.  The  marshal's  wish,  in  fact,  appeared  to  be  prema- 
ture, for  the  two  thousand  accused  persons  who  had  been  taken 
with  arms  in  their  hands,  relying  on  their  numbers  and  encouraged 
from  williont,  for  the  most  part  protested  in  advance  against  any 
pardon,  and  defied  the  government  to  try  them.     Under  these  cir- 


THE     PROPERTY     CLASS  407 

1834-1835 

cumstances  an  amnesty  was  impossible,  and  tlie  kinc^  refused  it. 
This  refusal  caused  the  retiremoiU  of  Marshal  (Icrard.  which  was 
speedily  followed  by  the  re>ii;iiation  of  almost  the  wlmlc  cabinet. 
The  long  and  anxious  crisis  that  followed  lasted  eight  nmnths,  dur- 
ing wdiich  we  hnd  a  ministi'y  of  three  days'  duration,  under  the 
presidency  of  the  Duke  of  Bassano.  and  then  the  old  cabinet,  re- 
constructed under  the  Duke  of  Trevisa,  which  lasted  three  months. 
At  length  on  March  12,  1835,  the  policy  of  October  12  still  pre- 
vailing, the  Duke  of  I^.roglie  accepted  tho  presidency  of  the  council 
and  was  joined  by  Thiers  and  Guizot. 

The  i)ersons  inculpated  in  the  great  trial  now  to  be  carried  cm 
beft)re  the  court  t)f  peers,  lunnbering  about  tW(T  thousand,  were 
di\ided  into  classes,  according  to  the  cities  in  which  the  insurrec- 
tion had  broken  out.  \\'ith  respect  to  the  greater  number  it  was 
declared  that  there  was  no  evidence  against  them,  and  they  were 
set  at  liberty.  The  court  summoned  before  it  a  hundred  and  sixty- 
four  accused  persons,  only  forty-three  of  whom  were  contumacious. 
It  was  continually  interrupted  by  the  violence  of  tlie  accused,  en- 
couraged by  the  journals  of  the  opposition  and  the  sympathy  openly 
expressed  of  many  members  of  the  extreme  left  in  the  chamber  of 
deputies.  Twenty-eight  cjf  the  princijial  prisoners  contrived  tn 
escape.  Of  the  remainder  a  hundred  and  six  accused  ]")ersons,  in- 
cluding many  who  were  tried  in  their  absence,  were  found  guilty 
and  sentenced  to  various  punishments,  the  severest  of  which  was 
transportation.  The  court  of  peers  displayed,  in  the  conduct  of 
this  dirficult  matter,  as  nnich  moderation  as  C(nn"age  and  was  i*eally 
the  rampart  of  threatened  society.  The  trials  lasted  nine  months, 
and  long  before  their  conclusion  ])ublic  attemion  was  diverted  from 
it  by  an  attempt  to  assassinate  the  king  on  July  2S,  iS,^5,  when 
on  his  way  to  hctld  a  review  vi  the  national  guards.  The  ri>yal 
cortege  had  rdready  arri\ed  as  far  as  the  boulcNard  of  the  Temple 
when  suddenly  a  jet  of  flame,  followed  by  a  loud  report,  issued 
from  a  neighboring  house.  On  e\ery  side  of  the  king  there  arose 
frightful  cries.  The  monarch  and  his  sons  were  spared,  but  the 
ground  around  them  was  covered  with  killed  and  wounded,  l^^orty 
persons  were  struck  and  eighteen  mortally  injured.  Marshal  Mor- 
tier.  General  \'erigny,  two  colonels,  several  national  guai"ds  and  a 
young  girl  being  among  the  latter.  A  ball  had  grazed  the  king's 
forehead,  another  had  penetrated  the  coat  (^f  the  Duke  of  P^n^glie 
and  five  generals  were  among  the  wounded.     The  instrument   of 


408  F  R  A  N  C  E 

1835-1836 

tlie  crime  was  an  infernal  machine,  armed  with  twenty-five  barrels, 
directed  toward  tlie  boule\ard,  and  had  been  invented  by  a  Cor- 
sican  naiiied  iMesclii,  the  principal  author  of  the  plot.  He  was 
seized,  together  with  his  accomplices,  Marcy  and  Pepin,  and  tried 
by  the  court  of  peers.  All  three  were  condemned  to  death  and  died 
upon  the  scaffold. 

A  few  days  after  the  solemn  funeral  of  the  victims  the  chambers 
were  convoked  and  the  keeper  of  the  seals  presented  to  the  deputies 
the  drafts  of  three  laws  relating  to  the  court  of  assizes,  to  juries, 
and  to  the  press.  These  laws  were  all  intended  to  protect  the  king, 
his  family  and  the  new  monarchy  against  the  hatred  and  fury  of 
their  enemies,  and  some  of  their  clauses  tended  directly  to  this  end. 
They  abridged  the  proceedings  before  the  courts  of  assize,  gave 
greater  independence  to  juries  by  means  of  the  introduction  of 
the  system  of  secret  voting,  prohibited  the  journals  from  making 
any  attack  upon  the  king  and  the  members  of  his  family,  or  the 
principle  even  of  the  established  government,  and  increased  the 
responsibility  of  the  conductors  of  them.  But  to  these  measures, 
which  circumstances  rendered  reasonable,  the  government  had  added 
others,  which  diminished  in  the  courts  of  assize  the  chance  of  ac- 
quittal hitherto  possessed  by  the  accused,  demanded  enormous  se- 
curities from  the  journals,  subjected  them  to  exorbitant  fines,  and 
finally,  in  certain  cases,  in  direct  opposition  to  the  sixty-ninth 
article  of  the  charter,  removed  the  consideration  of  crimes  of  the 
press  from  juries  by  enabling  the  government  at  its  will  to  declare 
them  to  be  outrages  against  the  crowai,  and  thus  cause  them  to  be 
tried  by  the  court  of  peers.  In  spite  of  a  serious  opposition,  led 
in  the  chamber  of  deputies  by  Royer-Collard,  wdio  had  kept  silence 
for  many  years,  and  by  Villemain  and  Montalembert  in  the  cham- 
ber of  peers,  the  projects  were  adopted  and  converted  into  laws, 
which  have  remained  famous  under  the  name  of  the  "  Laws  of 
September."  The  effect  of  these  law^s,  which  intimated  an  inten- 
tion on  tlie  i)art  of  the  government  to  persevere  in  a  course  of  se- 
verity, strengthened  the  links  that  connected  the  sections  of  the 
opposition  and  increased  the  want  of  harmony  among  the  conserva- 
tives, while  at  the  same  time  they  did  not  strengthen  the  ministry. 
France  was,  it  is  true,  peaceable  during  the  four  months  which  fol- 
lowed their  promulgation,  but  this  calm  was  only  the  natural  result 
of  the  depression  felt  by  the  republican  party  after  so  many  defeats, 
and  the  cabinet  was  overthrown  at  the  commencement  of  the  fol- 


T II  i:    p  R  ()  p  i:  u  T  Y    r  l  a  s  s  409 

1S36 

lowing  session  (1836)  on  the  question  of  tlie  convcrsinii  of  the 
rciilcSj  which  was  carried  in  the  chaml)cr  aj^ainst  the  cahinet  l)y  a 
majority  of  two — a  majority  narrow  enough,  it  is  true.  l)Ut  suffi- 
cient to  compel  the  resignation  of  nu'nistcrs  who  had  imprudent]}- 
made  the  decision  of  the  chamhcr  on  this  serious  suhjcct  a  (juestion 
as  to  their  ministerial  existence. 

The  principal  fact  wliich  marked  the  formation  of  the  new 
ministry  was  the  separation  of  Thiers  from  Guizot  and  tlie  doc- 
trinaires. Xone  of  the  latter  had  places  in  the  cahinet  formc(l 
by  Thiers,  in  which  he  was  hin.iself  minister  for  foreign  affairs, 
and  in  whicli  sat  tliree  members  of  the  tliird  ])arty.  Sauzet.  I'elet 
(of  T.a  I>ozere).  and  Passy,  who  were  resjiectively  ministers  if  jus- 
tice, public  instruction,  and  commerce.  This  ministry,  which  had 
declared  that  there  could  be  no  alteration  in  the  conduct  of  the  gov- 
ernment and  th.at  it  still  adhered  to  the  policy  of  resistance,  lasted 
a  still  shorter  time  than  the  preceding  one,  and.  am(»ng  the  small 
number  of  measures  carried  into  execution  during  its  administra- 
tion, was  one  useful  law  ior  facilitating  the  construction  of  coun- 
try road.s  and  a  praiseworthy  sacrifice  made  to  public  morality  of 
a  re\'cnue  of  about  six  millions  by  the  sujipression  of  gaming  houses. 
The  session  \\<as  brought  to  a  close  in  June,  iS^fn  and  a  few  days 
afterwards  the  king  pro\-idcntially  escaped  another  attack  made 
against  his  ])erson.  The  author  of  this  crime  was  a  young  fanatic 
named  .Vlibaud.  who,  being  tried  and  condemned  1)_\-  the  court  of 
peers,  lost  his  head  upon  the  scaffcdd.  'J'raiKpiillity  now  began 
to  be  reestablished  in  tlie  interior,  hut  the  ])o|itic;d  hori/on  was 
gloomy  abroad.  Th.c  last  remains  of  the  ancient  independence  oi 
Poland  ])eris]ied  with  the  republic  of  Craccnv,  which  \\;is  occu|)ied 
jointly  1)y  Russia.  Prussia,  and  Au-^tria.  under  tiie  pretence  oi 
stilling  and  destroying  a  focus  of  ])olitical  troubles. 

Switzerland  at  this  time  apjieared  an  a<ylum  t()  the  revolu- 
tiom'sts.  and  Thiers,  in  compelling  liieir  e\])u!sion.  excited  in 
Switzerlaml  a!i  unfortunate  feeling  of  resentment  against  tlie 
I'rench  go\-ernment.  In  S])ain  the  horrors  (*f  ci\-il  war  were  added 
to  the  spectacle  of  anarchy  and  a  demagogic  re\'olution.  Carlists 
and  (hristinos  i'i\-aled  each  otlier  in  fury  and  cruelt\',  and  in  lulw 
iH^f),  the  (|ueen  ni<  >tlu'r  invoked  the  clauses  of  the  Treaty  of  tlie 
(juadrui'le  Alliance  I'T  the  ])Ui"poH>  of  obtaining  the  aid  i^i  the 
jjowers  who  had  signed  it  against  I  )on  Carlos.  The  onlv  forei'.Mi 
auxiliaries  of  the  constitutional  cause  at   that   time   in  the  tpieen":- 


410  r  R  A  N  C  E 

1836 

armies  consisted  of  a  legion  of  about  three  thousand  men  of  various 
nations,  called  the  foreign  legion,  and  a  small  body  of  English  volun- 
teers, under  General  Evans.  King  Louis  Philip  was  reluctant  to 
engage  the  French  government  in  the  sanguinary  struggle  which 
was  then  going  on,  but  Thiers  proposed  that  the  Spanish  govern- 
ment should  recruit  from  the  army  of  observation  of  the  Pyrenees 
a  sufficient  number  of  volunteers  to  raise  the  foreign  legion  to  ten 
thousand  men,  who  were  to  be  placed  under  the  orders  of  a  French 
general,  and  act  in  concert  with  the  corps  under  General  Evans. 
Louis  Philip  sanctioned  this  project,  but  before  it  was  carried  into 
execution  a  military  insurrection  burst  forth,  in  the  month  of 
August  in  Spain,  and  the  cpieen-regent  was  compelled  to  subscribe 
to  the  constitution  of  1812,  in  which  royalty  was  a  mere  phantom. 
In  this  new  crisis  Louis  Philip  wished  the  volunteers  incorporated 
in  the  foreign  legion  to  be  dismissed,  while  Thiers  insisted  that 
they  should  be  retained  in  the  service,  to  be  ready  to  act  when  order 
should  be  reestablished.  As  his  views  were  directly  opposed  by 
the  king  he  resigned  his  portfolio.  All  his  colleagues,  with  the 
exception  of  Montalivet,  followed  his  example,  and  the  ministry 
was  dissolved. 

The  formation  of  a  new  ministry  was  now  entrusted  to  Mole, 
under  whom  as  minister  for  foreign  affairs  and  president  of  the 
council,  Guizot  had  the  portfolio  of  public  instruction,  Gasparin 
tliat  of  the  interior  and  Duchatel  that  of  finance.  The  existence  of 
this  cabinet  was  a  very  agitated  one.  The  relations  between  France 
and  Switzerland  became  embittered  and  the  disturbed  relations  be- 
tween the  two  countries  precipitated  probably  the  execution  of  a 
plot,  the  author  of  which  was  Prince  Louis  Napoleon  Bonaparte, 
son  of  the  ex-king  of  Holland.  This  prince,  who  had  been  brought 
up  in  Switzerland  at  the  castle  of  Arenberg  by  Queen  Hortense, 
his  mother,  had  associated  himself  in  1831,  while  still  very  young, 
with  the  disastrous  enterprise  of  the  Italian  patriots,  and  since  the 
death  of  the  Duke  of  Reichstadt  (Napoleon  II.),  which  took  place 
in  1832,  he  considered  himself  heir  to  his  uncle's  imperial  throne, 
and  did  not  doubt  that  he  should  some  day  sit  on  it.  Deceived  by 
the  secret  encouragement  of  various  infiuential  persons,  he  be- 
lieved tliat  k  ranee  was  ready  to  substitute  an  imperial  government 
for  that  of  July,  and  that  he  would  only  have  to  appear  to  secure 
a  fortress  and  a  few  regiments,  and  to  march  to  Paris  to  be  saluted 
empen^r  by  the  whole  of  France.     During  the  night  of  October  30 


THE     PROPERTY     CLASS  411 

1836-1837 

the  prince  secretly  entered  Strassbnr^,  <:^atliere(l  toq-etlier  his  ac- 
comphccs.  and  endcaxorcd  to  raise  all  the  troops  and  the  inliahi- 
tants  to  tlie  cry  of  "  Loni;-  li\e  Xapnlcon!  l.oni^  live  liberty!  '*  The 
attempt,  however,  proved  a  failnre,  for  the  j;arrist)n  and  the  inliahi- 
tants  proved  faith fnl  to  the  king,  and,  after  a  short  struggle,  the 
prince  and  the  ])rincipal  consjiirators  were  made  prisoners.  The 
latter  were  gi\en  o\er  to  the  hands  of  justice,  but  Louis  Xapo- 
leon,  tlic  author  and  whole  soul  of  the  plot,  was  sent  t(j  the  United 
States. 

The  French  arms  at  this  period  experienced  a  great  disaster 
in  Africa,  where  ALirshal  Clausel  had  recently  succeeded  Count 
of  Erlon  as  governor-general  of  .\lgeria.  The  war  was  carried 
on  with  the  utmost  vigor  during  the  whole  of  the  old  regency,  and 
while  Abd-el-Kader,  the  Emir  Maskara,  who  was  considered  l^y  the 
Arabs  as  the  leader  of  the  holy  war,  held  the  French  troops  in 
check  in  the  ])rovince  of  Oran.  they  had  to  repulse  in  the  east  in  the 
province  of  Bona  the  continual  and  murderous  attacks  of  the  bey 
of  Constant ine.  The  cajitiu'e  of  this  latter  place  was  considered 
by  Marshal  Clausel  as  indispensable  to  the  security  as  well  as  to  the 
development  of  the  French  possessions  in  Africa,  and  he  led  an 
exi)edition  against  it  C(Misisting  of  eight  thousand  infantrv.  fifteen 
hundred  horse,  two  batteries  of  howitzers  and  eight  fieUl  pieces. 
An  assault  on  the  town  failed,  and  the  marshal  was  compelled  to 
order  a  retreat,  in  which  he  lost  one-third  of  his  army. 

The  legislative  session  opened  in  December.  1836,  under  the 
painful  impression  caused  by  this  reverse  and  a  fresli  attempt 
against  the  king's  life.  The  address  of  the  two  chambers  in  reply 
to  the  sj)eech  from  the  throne  had  scarce! v  been  voted  when  there 
arrived  news  of  the  strange  result  of  the  trial  of  the  accomplices  of 
Prince  Louis  XajKileon  at  Strrissburg.  who  were  ac(iuitted  on  the 
])retext  that  the  ])rincipal  persttn  accused  had  been  withdrawn  from 
his  judges  and  the  verdict  of  the  jury.  To  this  unexi)ected  result 
the  ministry  re])lied  by  ])rescnting  scwral  irritating  laws  increasing 
the  power  of  the  government  against  the  subiect;  while  at  the  same 
time,  by  an  unfortunate  coinci^lence,  it  demanded  of  the  chambers 
a  dowry  for  the  Queen  of  the  JJelgians  and  an  allowance  for  the 
Duke  of  Xemours. 

The  public  mind  was  excited  by  all  these  projects,  at  which  the 
opposition  displayed  both  surprise  and  irritation,  and  the  ditVicnliies 
of  the  position   were   still    further   increa-eil   by    the    rejection   of 


412  FRANCE 

1837 

the  law  of  disjunction  for  trying  military  prisoners  apart  from 
civilians  implicated  in  the  same  crime,  which  the  cliamber  of  dep- 
uties threw  (wt  on  March  9  by  a  majority  of  two.  .Mole  per- 
ceived that  the  moment  had  come  for  moderating-  the  rigorous 
system  whicli  had  hitherto  been  in  force.  A  ministerial  crisis  en- 
sued, during  which  the  king  applied  successively  to  Guizot  and 
Thiers,  inviting  them  to  form  a  cabinet,  but  each  of  them  had  to 
give  up  the  task.  The  king  then  returned  to  Mole,  who,  resolved 
to  adopt  a  conciliatory  policy,  took  four  new  colleagues,  Barthe, 
Montalivet,  Salvandy,  Lacave-Laplagne,  and  they  held  respecti\ely 
the  portfolios  of  justice,  of  the  interior,  of  public  instruction,  and  of 
finance. 

Thus  was  formed  the  ministry  of  April  15,  1837,  under 
the  presidency  of  Mole,  a  cabinet  which  did  not  reckon  among  its 
members  any  of  the  great  orators  of  the  elective  chamber,  although 
it  was  composed  of  capable  and  enlightened  men,  who  were  ani- 
mated by  a  desire  for  the  general  welfare.  The  first  acts  of  the 
new  ministry  tended  to  inaugurate  a  more  conciliatory  policy.  The 
irritating  projects  recently  presented  to  the  chamber  relative  to  a 
settlement  on  the  Duke  of  Nemours,  the  punishment  of  persons 
who  should  fail  to  reveal  conspiracies,  and  the  substitution  of  soli- 
tary confinement  for  transportation,  were  withdrawn,  and  the  king 
granted  an  almost  general  amnesty  to  persons  accused  of  political 
offenses.  No  important  change,  however,  was  made  in  the  general 
conduct  either  of  home  or  foreign  aft^airs.  After  the  session  the 
chamber  of  deputies  was  dissolved,  and  the  month  of  October  ap- 
pointed for  the  general  elections.  The  radical  party  concentrated 
all  its  forces  for  the  electoral  struggle  which  was  about  to  com- 
mence, but  all  its  efforts  only  resulted  in  the  return  of  a  few  more 
Kepublican  deputies.  The  third  party  also  gained  many  new  mem- 
Ijcrs,  and  tlie  various  parties  in  the  chamber  remained,  in  spite  of 
the  introduction  of  many  fresh  members,  almost  of  the  same  re- 
spective strength  as  formerly.  The  ministry  of  Alole  did  not  make 
much  greater  efforts  than  preceding  ministries  to  carry  out  in  a 
liberal  spirit  the  promises  of  the  charter,  and  it  failed  to  pay  any 
more  attention  than  they  had  paid  to  the  social  questions,  properly 
so  called,  which  had  for  their  especial  object  the  amelioration  of 
the  condition  of  the  working  classes,  and  which  now  began  to  occupy 
public  attention.  Whatever  reproaches,  however,  the  ministry  of 
Mok-  ur.iy  lia\e  justly  incurred,  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  the 


TIIK     PROPEUTY     CLASS  413 

1837 

j>eriod  which  elapsed  fri'in  April  15,  i8;^7.  to  its  fall  was  a  ]Vi-mv- 
peroiis  period,  the  most  fruitful  iu  useful  laws  iu  i)rMp' >rtii  ui  to 
its  duration,  and  tlie  most  tranquil  of  .all  the  reii^n.  The  rise  in 
the  pul)lie  funds  iv^w  announced  th.at  public  confidence,  as  well  as 
the  material  and  financial  condition  1  \  the  kiu'^'doni.  \\a>  iiupro\- 
ing.  The  intlustry  of  the  country  had  been  immensely  develiqied 
a,nd  the  construction  of  some  of  tlic  great  h'rench  railroads  com- 
menced at  this  peri(xl. 

France,  iu  the  meantime,  maintained  its  rank  and  influence 
al)r(\''d.  Ancona.  indeed,  was  e\"acuated  in  December.  183S,  before 
the  acconiplishment  of  the  reform  piromised  by  the  l\oman  go\-- 
eriuuenl,  but  this  evacuation  only  took  ])hice  after  the  c\acuation 
of  the  rontitic.'d  tcrritor}'  b\-  the  Ausirians  thcm<el\cs.  I'lic  Hutcli- 
Ijelgian  question  was  finally  settled  at  this  period  bv  the  ac(|uiescencc 
of  the  King  of  the  Netherlands  in  the  Treaty  of  the  d\venty-l-"run' 
Articles.  The  cabinet  displayed  at  first  some  weakness  in  its  con- 
duct with  respect  to  Algeria.  Tt  committed  the  fault  of  ratifying 
the  Treat}'  of  d'afna,  concluded  between  Abd-el-Kader  and  (leneral 
]^>ugeaud.  May.  1837.  a  con\"ention  by  which  the  emir  acknowledged 
indeed  the  so\-ereignty  of  I'rrmce  in  .Algeria,  but  bv  which  also  a, 
ci  insid,cral)le  portion  nt  the  old  teri'itory  occupied  by  the  J"'rench 
trooj)s  was  coded  to  the  Arabs.  Tliis  unfortunate  treat}-.  howe\cr. 
was  ato!ied  l"or  by  the  brilliant  success  of  a  new  expedition  made 
bv  the  iM'ench  arm}-  agrnnst  C "on--tautine.  dhe  town  was  carried  b}' 
assault  (  )ctober,  i<*^37.  and  its  posses>ion  extended  ,'nid  confirmed  the 
power  of  bh'ance  over  all  the  tribes  of  tliat  proxince.  l"r;nice  had 
at  this  time  just  demands  to  make  or  ofTen<es  to  ])uiu's!i  in  various 
countries  of  the  new  workl.  In  l!a}-li.  in  the  Argentine  Keiiublic. 
now-  t\-rauni/ed  o\er  b\-  rresideut  Rosas,  and  in  Mexico,  and  she 
e\erywhcre  made  her  j)o\vcr  lespected.  The  bh-ench  na\y  \\i  pai'- 
ticular  covered  itself  with  glory  in  the  expediliiui  directed  against 
Mexico  bv  Admiral  J>audin,  who  was  \-aliantI}-  secondetl  bv  the 
Prince  of  Joiin'ille.  th.e  third  ^on  ^)i  die  King  of  tlie  l'"rench.  Thi- 
rapid  cam])aign  was  terminated  by  the  attack  on  and  capture  of 
the  Fort  Saint  jean  dTdl(\'i.  the  principal  defen>e  i^\  Vcva  Cruz. 
That  place  capitulated  and  the  x'ictory  obtaine  1  b}-  the  I'h'ench 
scpiadron  was  subse(pien!lv  followed  by  a  treat}-,  the  coiulitious  of 
which  were  dicta.ted  b}-  bh-ance. 

Louis  Philip  was  ;it  this  time  at  the  height  of  his  greatness. 
He  celebrated  at   b'ountaineblcau   the  marri.'ige  fetes  of  his  eldest 


414  FRANCE 

1839 

son,  the  Dnke  of  Orleans,  who  espoused  the  Princess  Helen  of 
Mecklenbnrg-Schwerin.  the  rare  qualities  of  whose  mind  and  heart 
rendered  her  worthy  of  the  throne.  The  same  year  witnessed  the 
splendid  inauguration  of  the  historical  galleries  of  Versailles.  For- 
tune continued  to  smile  upon  him ;  a  grandson  was  born  to  him,  and 
no  mourning  had  yet  fallen  upon  his  brilliant  family;  no  somber 
cloud,  in  spite  of  the  existence  in  the  country  of  so  much  implacable 
hatred,  hung  between  the  king  and  his  people. 


Chapter     XXV 

GUIZOT'S    MINISTRY  AND  TIIK   RKVOLUTION   OF    1848 

1 838- 1 848 


y4  LTI10U(~!]1  Mok'  had  found  il  necessary  in  the  rec(^nstnic- 
/  %  tion  oi  his  cabinet  to  exchide  (lui/ot  from  any  oftice  in  it. 
-A-  JL  it  was  on  the  nienihers  of  the  two  centers,  who  were  more 
])articular]y  under  tlie  inlluencc  of  Tiuizot  and  d'hiers,  tliat  the 
president  of  the  council  found  liimself  forced  to  rely.  I'ut  the 
motive  spirit  of  the  .c^overnment  no  lon<;-er  came  froiu  them,  and 
appeared,  too  openly,  ti:)  emanate  beyond  the  walls  of  the  chrunbers 
from  the  royal  will,  \vhich  was  obeyed  by  the  rdTicers  of  the  crown 
and  the  crowd  of  functionaries  who  sat  on  the  conservati\c  benclies. 
The  leaders  of  tlie  (dd  majority,  although  far  from  satisfied  with 
the  secondary  ])osition  in  which  they  were  placed,  appeared  at  llrst 
to  be  resigned  to  it,  and  the  ministry  held  power  so  lonq-  as  they 
afforded  it  their  support.  They  became  weary,  at  len.c^th.  of  this 
state  (jf  affairs,  and  beinc^  too  wealc  to  q-ovcrn  by  themseU'CS.  foriued 
a  lea!:;"ue  a!::;'ainst  the  cabinet  with  the  third  partv  and  their  old 
adversaries  of  the  luoderatc  left,  ddie  stru^'L^ie  ojjcnly  commenced 
in  the  journals  in  the  interest  of  tlie  now  uniied  parlies,  nuveri^'icr 
de  Ilauranne,  a  zealous  spokesman  of  tlic  doctrinaire  partv.  accused 
the  administration  of  Mole  in  the  Rr-'iir  l'i\nica!sr  ^^i  incapacity 
and  weakness,  while  the  conserwalix'e  journal,'^,  with  the  exception 
of  the  Prrssc  and  the  Dcbats.  rivaled  the  \iolence.  in  this  intestine 
war,  of  the  [)ai)ers  most  hostile  to  the  nionarcliy.  It  w;is  imputed 
as  a  crime  to  the  [government  that  it  had  abandoned  tlie  foreii;!! 
policy  of  1830.  an<l  sacriticed  to  the  |~)reser\ation  of  jieace  the  inter- 
ests and  di^'uity  of  b'rance  in  Italy,  Swil/erland  and  i)eli;-ium,  and 
the  allei^'ed  encroachments  of  the  crown  in  the  conduct  of  affairs 
were  loudly  denounced,  bh'om  the  \ery  commencement  of  the  ses- 
sion the  virulent  attacks  of  the  press  were  rej)roduced  in  llie  debates 
in  the  two  chambers  on  the  discussion  <A  the  address  to  the  kiuL;", 
and  were  .almost  entirely  concentrated  on  these  two  chief  ]ioints: 
the  ineftlciencv  or  cowardice  of  the  cabinet  in  its  relations  with  I'.ie 
crown,  its  bad  management  of  foreign  affairs,  its  forgetfulne-.^  of 


416  FRANCE 

1839 

French  interests  and  of  the  hberal  cause  in  Italy,  where  Ancona  had 
been  evacuated  without  any  guarantee,  and  in  Belgium,  which  had 
been  compelled  to  sacrifice  two  provinces ;  and  finally,  the  abuse  of 
the  name  of  France  in  Switzerland,  where  the  government  had 
offended  the  diet  by  forcing  upon  it  in  most  imperious  and  insulting 
terms  the  expulsion  of  Prince  Louis  Napoleon,  who  had  returned 
thither  after  the  failure  of  his  enteq:)rise  at  Strassburg.  The  strug- 
gle was  most  violent  in  the  chamber  of  deputies,  which  appointed  to 
draw  up  the  address  to  the  king  a  committee  chiefly  consisting  of 
members  of  the  lately  united  parties.  The  latter  drcvv  up  the 
address  in  terms  very  hostile  to  the  ministry,  whose  responsibility 
it  declared  not  to  be  sufficiently  genuine,  and  its  language  was 
somewhat  insulting  to  the  king  himself,  whom  it  invited,  in  an  indi- 
rect manner  and  with  a  show  of  respect,  to  confine  himself,  with  the 
other  powers  of  the  state,  within  constitutional  limits.  ]\Iole,  with 
the  assistance  of  Salvandy,  Marthe  and  ]\Iontalivet,  the  ministers 
of  public  instruction,  justice  and  the  interior,  succeeded  in  pro- 
curing some  modification  of  the  hostile  paragraphs  of  the  ad- 
dress drawn  up  by  the  committee,  but  he  could  only  obtain  a  major- 
ity of  eight  votes  in  favor  of  the  modification,  and  as  this  majority 
did  not  appear  to  him  sufficiently  strong  to  enable  him  to  carry  on 
the  government,  he  procured  from  the  king  the  dissolution  of  the 
chambers  and  appealed  to  the  country  by  means  of  a  general 
election. 

The  electoral  struggle  now  descended  from  the  high  ground 
of  the  general  interests  to  angry  and  personal  debates  between  the 
members  of  the  old  conservative  party.  The  coalition  formed  as 
many  managing  committees  as  there  were  political  parties  within  it, 
and  these  committees  were  agreed  to  give  the  preference  to  the 
candidates  of  the  most  extreme  opposition  over  those  of  the  ministry. 
The  cabinet,  driven  to  bay',  made  a  supreme  effort,  employed  with- 
out stint  against  its  adversaries  all  the  dangerous  weapons  which 
centralization  placed  in  its  hands  and  made  use  of  its  whole  admin- 
istrative strength  to  influence  the  elections.  But  it  was  no  longer 
in  a  position  in  which  it  was  capable  of  controlling  them.  The  con- 
sequence was  that  Mole  was  vanquished  by  numbers,  although  the 
public  opinion  of  his  talents  was  considerably  raised.  He  sent  in 
his  resignation,  and  it  was  accepted.  The  weakness  of  the  three 
principal  leaders  of  the  coalition,  after  a  doubtful  victory,  showed 
the  rashness  of  their  enterprise.     Incapable  of  uniting  for  the  pur- 


RKNOLUTION     OF     18  48 


417 


1S39 


j)()se  of  i^Tncniiii^-,  tliey  wore  si'vcrally  jxiwcrlc-s  t.)  i^ovcrii  alMic. 
!'.y  iinnc  I'f  ilic  iiiinicrMUs  ciunliiiiati' mis  attfinplcd  bv  the  kinj::;^  cnuM 
(iuizut,  Thiers  and  ()(hl!i)ii  I'.an'tit  he  so  associated  as  to  c;i\'e  to 
each  tliat  sliare  of  innueiice  ov  autliority  which  he  had  a  ri^^ht  to 
claim.  Idiey  all  failed,  one  after  the  other,  and  as  it  was  found 
absolutely  im])os<il)]e  to  fonu  at  this  juncture  a  durable  administra- 
tion, recourse  was  liad  to  an  intenuediate  or  transitii^n  cabinet, 
which  died  only  a  few  weeks  after  its  creati(in,  without  leavini^  any 
trace.  In  pri 'pwriiou  as  the  friends  of  the  constitutional  monarchy 
became  discoura.L;ed.  the  hopes  of  the  dema,<j^oL;'ues  became  raised, 
and  frop.i  all  this  chaos  there  resulted,  on  May  u.  1S30.  a  furious 
ri.'t,  wliich  was  set  on  foot  by  the  members  n\  the  secret  Society  of 
tile  Sea-'>ns,  which  a.d\ocated  the  Cfjual  dixdsion  of  pro])erty  and  the 
abolition  fi  all  laws  which  iLTUiaranlecd  its  ])ossession.  The  principal 
leaders  of  the  Society  ^^\  the  Seasons  were  Hlanqui.  l>arbes  and  Mar- 
tin lierna.rd.  and  these  men.  forced  to  act  with  rash  ])remeditation 
1)}"  those  whose  hopes  they  had  cherished,  ordered  a  ,2^encral  risinj;,^. 
The  insu.rc;ents  hoisted  the  red  llaq-  and  surprised  the  Hotel  de  \'ille 
and  se\-eral  other  important  ]')ositic)ns.  ddic  national  _g"uards  and 
the  regular  troo|)s.  hcnvevcr,  re])ressed  the  outbreak  and  order  was 
s} K'cd i  1  y  ree>t a  1  )1  i <h ed . 

Idiis  .audacious  attemjit  hastened  the  conclusion  of  the  mim's- 
terial  crisis,  and  on  the  \ery  day  on  which  the  insurrection  burst 
fi-rth  a  mini<'r\'  cou.sistitic^  of  members  of  the  two  centers  was 
formed  under  the  ])rcsidency  of  Marshal  Soult.  The  principal 
leaders  ni  the  coalition  had  no  share  in  the  new  cabinet,  which  lasted 
but  nine  months,  while  its  short  career  was  marked  by  few  incidents, 
the  principal  one  bcin^;'  the  trial  of  the  insurgents  of  Ma\'  u 
before  the  court  of  peers.  Sentence  ^^f  death  was  j)asscd  on 
I^arbes  and  IMaiuiui.  I)Ut  the  kinj^'  cotumuted  this  punishment, 
;iq'ainst  the  adxice  of  his  ministers,  into  that  i<i  soliiary  confinement. 
S'omc  useful  laws  were  passed  under  the  ausj)ices  of  this  ministrv 
for  the  better  or![^anizcation  of  the  staff  of  the  army,  the  improvement 
(tf  the  ports,  .and  the  increase  of  the  strenq-th  of  the  navy.  The 
chatu1)ers  :d>o  discussed  important  Laws  relatiniL;-  to  literaiy  j^rt^p- 
ert}',  railroad-  and  ]);u"li.ameiU.ary  reform,  which  were  incess.antly 
adjourned  .'ind  became  e\er}-  day  luorc  desirable.  1\)  turn  to  for- 
eic^n  .affairs,  llie  ^ovei'iunent  made  jieacc  with  Mexico,  from  which 
countrv  it  obtained  a  w<ar  indi'uinitv.  .and  hostilities  continued  in  T.a 
Plata  without  any  decisive  result.      In  sj)ite  of  the  devastating  incur- 


418  FRANCE 

1839-1840 

sions  of  Abd-el-Kader  in  tlie  plain  of  the  Metidja,  French  dominion 
in  Algeria  made  peaceful  progress.  The  cabinet  appeared  to  have 
gained  the  support  of  a  strong  majority  when  it  struck  against  an 
unforeseen  rock  (jn  the  occasion  of  the  marriage  of  the  Duke  of 
Nemours.  A  draft  of  a  law,  the  object  of  which  was  to  settle  on 
the  prince  an  annual  income  of  five  hundred  thousand  francs,  and 
t(3  secure  to  his  wife,  in  case  she  should  survive  him,  an  annuity  of 
three  hundred  thousand  francs,  was  presented  to  the  deputies  and 
rejected,  witliout  discussion.  This  defeat  led  to  the  fall  of  the 
cabinet,  and  all  the  ministers  gave  in  their  resignation  (February, 
1840). 

The  moment  appeared  to  have  come  for  the  formation  of  a 
new  administration  under  Thiers,  who  accepted  the  portfolio  of 
foreign  affairs,  and  was  entrusted  with  the  formation  of  a  new 
ministr}-.  He  selected  his  colleagues  from  the  left  center. 
Guizot,  who  had  lately  become  the  French  ambassador  in  London, 
promised  the  cabinet  the  support  of  himself  and  his  friends,  on  con- 
dition that  Thiers  would  resign  any  idea  of  electoral  reform  or  of 
the  dissolution  of  the  chamber.  The  natural  tendencies  of  the  new 
ministers  led  them  towards  the  left,  while  the  most  imperious  neces- 
sity forced  them  to  be  leagued  with  the  right,  and  the  result  was 
that  the  cabinet  was  driven  into  a  state  of  utter  inertness.  One  of 
the  first  acts  of  Thiers  was  to  present  a  law  the  object  of  which 
was  the  transfer  from  St.  Helena  to  France  of  Napoleon's  remains, 
and  as  the  English  government  did  not  offer  any  obstacle  to  the 
accomplishment  of  this  great  national  act,  the  remains  of  the  em- 
peror v;ere  brought  to  Paris  in  December,  1840,  in  the  midst  of  an 
immense  concourse  of  people,  and  deposited  with  great  pomp  at  the 
Hotel  des  Invalides.  Three  months  after  the  passing  of  this  law, 
Prince  Louis  Napoleon  made  a  fresh  attempt  to  gain  possession 
nf  the  throne,  which  he  considered  to  be  his  by  inheritance,  at 
J-loulogne-sur-Mer,  and  was  again  unsuccessful.  The  prince,  now 
once  more  a  prisoner,  was  on  this  occasion  tried  by  the  court  of 
])eers,  condemned  to  perpetual  imprisonment,  and  shut  up  in  the 
f(jrtrcss  of  IPun. 

Jn  S])ain,  during  this  year  the  queen  regent,  Maria  Christina, 
was  forced  to  abdicate,  October  10,  and  fled  to  France,  while  a  new 
governuK'nt  was  established  in  Madrid,  under  the  presidency  of 
(icncr.'d  1',s])artcro,  Duke  of  Vittoria,  who  was  soon  afterwards  him- 
self proclaimed  regent  of  the  kingdom.     In  the  East  hostilities  had 


H  EVOLUTION     O  1'     1848  HO 

1839-1840 

attain  l)rt»ken  nut  between  tlie  sultan  and  liis  jxiwerfnl  \-a>sal, 
Mehcmct  Ali,  tlie  ]\aslia  (^f  I^iryiU.  ll)raln'in,  Meliemet's  son,  liav- 
ing  crossed  the  I'Ai[)lirates,  chained  in  Syria  the  victory  of  Xc/.ib, 
June  24,  1839.  The  Turkisli  army  was  routed  and  a  few  days 
afterwards  tlie  whole  of  the  sultan's  fleet  surrendered  to  the  K<j^v])- 
tians.  The  sultan  now  had  neither  ships  unv  troops,  and  his  whole 
empire  appeared  to  i)e  on  the  eve  of  dissolution,  wlien  h^rench 
diplomacy  ae^ain  checked  Thr.ahim's  \icloiious  march.  En_q;land. 
Russia.  Prussia  and  Austria  havinp;'  pro])osed  to  Fr:incc  that  she 
should  enter  with  them  into  a  convention  for  the  purpose  of  deprix- 
ini^  Mehemet  of  Syria,  which  he  had  ac(|uired  1)\'  the  valor  of  h.is 
arms,  the  French  [^'overnment  refused,  on  the  around  that,  as  it  had 
stopped  the  advance  of  Ibrahim's  army,  it  could  not  allow  his  kint;-- 
dom  to  be  curtailed.  Idie  four  powers  then  ncLyotiatcd  without  tlic 
concurrence  of  b^'ance.  and  entered  into  a  treat v  with  the  sultan, 
July  15,  1840,  which  limited  IMehemet  Ali  to  the  hereditary  ])os- 
sessions  of  b^gypt,  and  ordered  him  to  ewacuale  SA-ria  within  a 
certain  time.  This  treaty  left  b^rance  in  the  state  of  isolation  in 
which  she  found  herself  in  1830.  and  she  was.  willi  i:;i)n{\  reason, 
seriously  offended.  The  ]'"rench  cabinet  i)rotested  and  made  foianid- 
able  preparations  for  war.  while,  pending  the  assemblv  of  the  cham- 
bers, which  were  convoked  for  Octi>ber,  ro\-al  ordinances  ci'eated 
a  number  of  fre>h  regiments  and  decreed  tliat  r.uas  sliould  l)e  for- 
tified bv  a  continuous  wall  and  a  series  of  detaciied  firts. 

Tn  the  meantime,  the  period  fixed  for  the  e\aciiation  of  Svria 
bv  Mehemet  ha\"ing  elapsed  without  ll)rahini's  witlidrawal.  an  l-'.ng- 
bsh  S(|ua(lron  bombarded  lleyrout  and  the  dethronement  of  Mehemet 
Ali  was  declared  by  the  sultan,  b'pon  this  the  I'rencli  go\crnment 
immediately  declared  that  anv  attempt  to  (le])ri\e  the  Taslia  ii\' 
l^gvpt  would  be  regarded  b\'  it  as  a  signal  for  war.  and  the  lk\t 
was  ordered  to  prcjiare  for  sailing.  '!"he  session  opened  in  tlie 
midst  of  these  serious  e\'cnts  .and  tlie  excitement  caused  b\'  a  fresh 
altem))t  on  the  king's  life,  'fhe  cabinet  had  inserted  in  thr  speech 
to  be  delivered  by  the  king  from  the  throne  some  expressions  which 
were  a  .species  of  threat  or  defiance  to  luirope.  but  Louis  Philip 
thought  it  better  to  assume  a  less  pro\-oking  attitude  in  respect  to 
the  other  j^owers.  1  le  retnsed  to  use  the  language  suggested  to  him 
l)y  his  ministers  and  la'called  his  tleet.  wliicli  was  alreadv  sailing  for 
Syria,  upon  which  the  cabinet  resigned,  'fhe  king  at-cejited  tl;c 
resignation  of  'I'hiers  and  his  colleagues,  and  transferred  the  port- 


i20  FRANCE 

1840-1842 

folio  of  foreign  affairs  to  Guizot,  whom  he  requested  to  form  a  new 
ministry,  in  concert  with  Marshal  Soult,  who  had  the  portfolio  of 
war,  and  became  president  of  the  council.  Guizot  was  its  most 
influential  m.ember.  He  ultimately  became  its  president  and  the 
chief  power  did  not  leave  his  hands  until  the  end  of  the  reign.  One 
of  the  first  acts  of  the  new  ministry,  whose  members  were  unani- 
mous in  supporting  a  peace  policy  abroad,  and  in  offering  an  obsti- 
nate resistance  to  all  plans  of  reform  at  home,  was  to  bring  France 
once  more  into  combined  action  with  the  European  powers,  by  sign- 
ing with  them  and  Turkey  the  Treaty  of  July  13,  1841,  which 
reestablished  Mehemet  Ali  in  the  hereditary  possession  of  Egypt, 
without  restoring  to  him  Syria,  and  which  closed  against  the 
fleets  of  all  nations  the  Dardanelles  and  the  Bosphorus.  The 
grand  project  relative  to  the  fortifications  was  resumed  by  the  cabi- 
net in  the  session  of  1841  and  sanctioned  by  the  chambers,  but  owing 
to  the  first  expenses  caused  by  these  immense  works  and  the  increase 
of  the  army,  the  charges  in  the  budget  were  enormously  increased, 
and  it  was  found  necessary  to  negotiate  at  various  periods  a  loan 
representing  a  capital  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  millions.  The  min- 
istry neglected  or  rejected  all  projects  relative  to  the  internal  poh'c_y 
of  the  kingdom,  but  it  presented  in  this  and  the  following  session 
(1841-1842)  several  useful  laws  respecting  literary  property,  judi- 
cial sales,  and  the  great  lines  of  railroads.  The  cabinet  failed,  how- 
ever, to  calm  the  spirit  of  agitation.  ]Many  important  cities,  such  as 
Lille.  Clermont,  JMacon  and  Toulouse  were  the  scenes  of  serious 
disorders,  and  publications  of  great  virulence  provoked,  during  two 
years,  numerous  prosecutions  of  the  editors  of  journals  and  writers 
of  pamphlets.  An  odious  attempt  to  assassinate  one  of  the  king's 
sons,  the  Duke  of  Aumale,  on  his  return  from  an  expedition  in 
Algeria,  failed  in  its  object,  and  gave  rise  to  a  criminal  prosecution 
before  the  chamber  of  peers,  which  resulted  in  the  condemnation 
of  the  would-be  assassin  and  his  accomplices.  The  elective  cham- 
ber was  dissolved  in  June,  1842,  and  the  general  elections,  greatly 
influenced  by  the  cabinet,  returned  a  new  chamber,  which  consisted 
of  altu'ist  precisely  the  same  elements  as  the  preceding.  This  year 
was  marked  by  a  circumstance  as  fatal  as  unforeseen.  The  Duke 
of  Orleans,  prince  royal,  being  run  away  with  by  his  horses,  sprang 
(jut  ol  liis  carriage,  had  his  head  fractured  in  the  fall,  and  expired 
a  tew  lii>urs  afterwards.  'j"!ic  sudden  death  of  this  prince  \v;is  a 
fatal  blow  to  the  dynasty  of  Orleans,  already  beaten  by  so  masiy 


REVOLl^TIOX     OF     18  18  421 

1842-1844 

sldvms.  He  left  heliitul  liiiii  Iwo  vcrv  vduiij::;-  cliildrcn,  tlic  Coniit  nf 
F'aris  and  the  1  )nke  of  Cliartrcs.  and  in  anticipation  of  a  minority, 
the  chamhers  decided,  in  concert  with  the  j^Dvernment.  that  in  case 
the  sovereit^n  slionid  be  a  minor  the  regency  should  beloni^  to  liis 
nearest  relation  in  the  paternal  line,  and  the  royal  majority  was 
fixed  at  eig^hteen  years. 

Few  years  have  been  so  sterile  in  lec^islative  measures  of  great 
interest  as  the  year  1843,  durins^  which  L.ouis  I'hilip  received  at  the 
chateau  d'lui  a  friendly  visit  from  the  Nonng'  Oueen  of  iMigland, 
who  had  succeeded  her  uncle,  William  IV.,  in  1837,  an  event  which 
was  regarded  as  of  good  augury  to  the  maintenance  of  amicable 
relations  between  the  two  countries. 

The  government  at  this  time  made  many  enemies  among  the 
clergy  and  the  clerical  party,  as  the  ardent  supporters  of  the  Church 
of  Rome  were  styled,  by  a  law  which  was  proposed  to  regulate  free 
secondary  educaticMi.  It  was  proposed  to  allow  anyone  possessing 
a  certificate  of  competency  to  open  a  school,  after  making  a  declara- 
tion that  he  did  not  belong  to  any  religious  society  not  legally 
authorized,  the  go\ernnient  exercising  the  right  of  inspection  of 
schools  established  under  these  conditions.  The  proi)osed  law 
exempted  ecclesiastical  schools  or  small  seminaries  from  some  of  the 
conditions  imj^osed  on  lav  educational  establishments.  In  the 
chamber  of  deputies  the  law  was  indefinitely  adjourned. 

A  serious  incident,  brought  about  by  some  important  men  of 
the  legitimist  party,  occupied  the  attenti>)n  of  the  chamber  at  the 
C(»nimencement  of  the  sessii)n.  The  hopes  of  this  party  had  been 
re\i\ed  after  the  death  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  and  the  Duke  of 
iMirdeaux.  who  had  now  assumed  the  title  of  the  Count  of  Cham- 
burd.  ha\  ing  \isiled  London  in  1843,  became,  at  his  residence  in  IjcI- 
gra\e  S(|uare,  the  object  of  an  enthusiastic  demonstration  on  the 
part  of  a  crowd  of  legitimists,  among  whom  were  sexeral  deputies, 
who  had  liasiened  from  b'rruice  to  pay  homage  to  him  whom  they 
regarded  and  honored  as  the  true  heir  to  the  crown  of  Charles  X. 
The  goxernnient  thought  it  their  duty  to  censure  their  conduct  in  a 
sentence  ot  tlie  speech  from  the  throne  at  the  commencement  of 
the  new  session.  This  sentence  excited  an  animated  debate  in  the 
two  chambers,  and  e.-5[)ecially  in  th.e  elective  chamber,  but  the  para- 
gra])h  which,  in  the  chamber's  address  to  the  king,  censured  the 
conduct  of  the  inculpated  deputies  was  adopted,  and  the  latter  imme- 
diately resignetl  their  seals,  but  were  reelected.     The  new  hopes  of 


422  FRANCE 

1842-1845 

the  legitimists,  so  openly  manifested  by  this  incident,  aroused  the 
apprehensions  of  the  liberals  and  had  something  to  do,  probably, 
with  the  cold  reception  given  by  the  latter  to  the  law  presented  to 
the  chamber  on  the  subject  of  secondary  instruction.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  vehemence  with  which  the  great  subject  of  freedom  in  the 
matter  of  education  had  been  pleaded  by  many  priests  and  laymen 
openly  favorable  to  the  Jesuits  provoked  an  inevitable  reaction 
against  this  society  in  the  constitutional  party,  and  rendered  it 
extremely  anxious  respecting  the  neglect  into  which  the  laws  rela- 
tive to  the  Jesuits  had  been  allowed  to  fall.  In  the  following  ses- 
sion. May,  1845,  Thiers,  who  had  become  the  leader  of  the  opposi- 
tion in  tliC  left  center,  demanded  that  all  enactments  in  existence 
against  the  Jesuits  should  be  put  in  force,  and  submitted  a  proposi- 
tion that  the  chamber  relied  upon  the  government  for  the  execution 
of  the  laws,  and  it  was  carried  by  an  immense  majority.  Two 
months  later,  and  while  the  same  question  was  being  discussed  in 
the  chamber  of  peers,  Guizot  cut  short  the  discussion  by  declaring 
that  the  Pope  liimself  had  persuaded  the  Jesuits  in  France  to  con- 
form to  the  laws  of  the  kingdom. 

The  satisfaction  thus  given  by  the  government  to  the  opposi- 
tion of  the  left  was  far  from  appeasing  the  irritation  caused  by  the 
policy  of  the  government  at  this  period  with  regard  to  England  on 
the  subject  of  Tahiti,  or  the  Society  Islands,  in  the  Pacific.  Admiral 
Dupetit-Thouars  had  taken  possession  in  1842  in  the  name  of 
France  of  the  Tvlarquiscs  Islands,  and  he  subsequently  thought 
])roper  to  establish  the  protectorate  of  France  over  the  Society 
Islands,  where  the  English  and  Protestant  missionaries  had  long 
since  exercised  over  Pomare,  the  Queen  of  Tahiti,  and  the  i)rincipal 
native  chiefs,  a  civilizing  influence.  The  latter,  at  the  instigation 
of  the  English  missionaries,  arose  in  defense  of  their  national  in- 
dependence. Th.e  insurrection  was  promptly  put  down  and  Admiral 
Dupetit-Thouars  took  complete  possession  of  these  islands  in  the 
name  of  Fraiicc,  and  hoisted  there  the  French  flag,  in  spite  of  the 
veliement  remonstrances  of  a  merchant  named  Pritchard,  who  was 
the  English  consul.  The  latter  resigned  his  office,  but  continued 
his  intrigues  with  the  chiefs  and  endeavored  to  raise  the  nation, 
lie  was  arrested  and  put  into  solitary  confinement  by  the  French 
authorities  and  ultimately  sent  back  to  England,  where  he  demanded 
of  iM-ance  an  indemnity  for  his  commercial  losses  as  well  as  for 
the  treatment  he  had  undertrone. 


11  E  \  ()  L  T  ^  'r  I  0  X     OF     1  8  !■  8  423 

1843-1845 

In  tlie  mcnntinie,  ho\ve\cr.  llie  I'^ieiicli  G^nveniment  had  dis- 
avowetl  the  conduct  nf  its  adniirrd  and  i"choistc(l  its  Ha^'  a!  d'nhiii 
as  simply  that  oi'  a  protecting-  powci'.  As.  moreo\cr,  tlie  ]"!nt!;lish 
press  and  the  Jh'itisli  I'arhainent  reechoed  the  complaints  of  tlie 
ex-consuh  I'ritcliar(h  the  h'rench  cahinet.  while  asserting-  that  their 
(tthcers  liad  a  rii^lit  to  expel  him.  yet  decided  that  an  indemnity 
was  due  to  him.  This  concession  on  tlic  part  of  the  government 
aroused  a  violent  storm  against  it,  tlic  wlude  of  tlic  ojiposition  unit- 
ing in  accusing  it  of  sacrificing  the  hono.r  of  I'rance  to  the  Knglisli 
alliance.  Th.e  cpiestion  was  reopened  during  the  di-cussion  of  the 
address  at  the  commencement  of  the  following  session.  1844-1845. 
and  ,ga\'C  rise  to  the  most  st(^rmy  rlchates.  the  government  only  ob- 
tainin.g  in  the  chamber  of  deputies  on  the  subject  of  the  indemnity 
to  Pritchard  a  majority  of  eight  votes.  The  general  irritation, 
now  nnich  enxenomed  1)\-  political  ji.assion  and  nationad  su>cepti- 
bility,  rendered  im])ossil>le  tlie  maintenance  of  the  rigiit  of  search, 
\vhich  had  been  reciprocally  exercised  Ijy  virtue  of  old  treaties  by 
the  na\'ies  of  l-'rance  and  Kngland  for  the  abolition  of  the  slave 
trade.  The  com])laints  which  were  raised  in  l-'rance  on  this  oc- 
casion were  so  loud  that  the  go\-ernment  did  not  \-enlure  to  gi\-e 
the  r.atillcaiion  so  eagerly  desired  by  I'higland.  to  a  new  ti^eaty 
negotiated  with  all  the  great  jiowers.  wliicli  pi'o\ided  for  :\  greater 
extension  of  this  riglit.  The  i^ngiisli  cabinet  had  to  g"i\-e  way  in 
its  turn.  It  abandioned  the  right  of  search.  ;md  a  treaty  negotiated 
on  other  bases,  and  less  elVicacious  for  the  rej)ressi(ai  of  the  slax'e 
trade,  was  signed  bv  the  two  powers  ^n  M;i\-  2(),   1845. 

The  war  in  Algeria  was  warmly  prosecuted  in  i84_:;-i844  by 
?^[arshal  Ihigeaud.  'J"he  miiuerous  Arab  tribes  raided  in  revolt 
by  Abd-el-l\ader  were  chastised,  and  made  their  submi>s;iin.  and 
the  DrT'e  of  Auinale  took  the  .Smala.  or  cam]),  of  the  emir.  Abd-el- 
l\;ider.  who  dcd  into  Morocco,  and  persuaded  the  i'jn])eror  Mulc}'- 
Abder-Rhaman  to  take  u])  his  cause.  On  this.  ;i  l-'rench  t1eet,  under 
the  order-  of  t'le  I'la'nce  of  joiin'ille.  attack'ed  d'angiers.  and  then 
took  posses<i*  n^  of  the  inland  <  >\  Mogador.  .and  b'  -nibarded  the  cit\'  of 
that  nrmie.  which  was  the  central  point  lu'  the  Moroccan  commerce. 
On  tlie  same  day  (August  14.  1844)  Marr-lial  I'.ugeaud  totally 
defeated  the  army  of  Morocco  on  the  banks  of  the  Isly.  This  \ic- 
torv  was  lollowed  in  Sejnember  by  the  TreatN'  of  Tangier-;,  which 
g-ave  to  l'"rance  all  the  satisfaction  she  demanded  and  put  Abd  el- 
Kader  out  of  the  pale  of  the  law  in  tlie  emi)ire  of  Abjriicco.     d'liis 


424  F  R  A  N  C  E 

1845-1846 

treaty  was  the  subject  of  vehement  attacks  on  the  part  of  the  opposi- 
tion in  the  following  session,  and  the  satisfaction  caused  by  the 
victory  of  Isly  was  lessened  by  the  persistent  refusal  on  the  part 
of  the  government  to  make  any  real  reforms.  The  legislative  ses- 
sions of  1844  and  1845  were  in  this  respect  completely  sterile.  A 
few  laws  of  general  utility  Avere  passed,  but  almost  all  those  pro- 
posed which  bore  the  impress  of  a  really  liberal  spirit  were  rejected, 
or  at  least  deferred. 

Various  circumstances  concurred  to  aggravate  the  serious 
aspect  of  affairs  at  the  commencement  of  the  following  year.  There 
was  a  state  of  almost  famine  in  the  country  districts,  and  great 
disturbances  had  been  caused  in  the  industrial  world  by  extrava- 
gant speculations  in  railroad  property.  To  these  causes  of  anxiety 
were  added  the  discontent  caused  by  the  ever-increasing  charges  of 
the  treasury  and  some  reverses  suffered  by  the  French  arms  in  Al- 
geria, where  Abd-el-Kader  had  excited  a  serious  insurrection.  The 
turbulent  Kabyles  were,  however,  held  in  check  by  General  Lamo- 
riciere,  who  had  replaced  Marshal  Bugeaud  for  a  short  time,  and 
on  the  return  of  the  latter  to  his  government  the  insurgent  tribes 
were  completely  reduced  to  submission.  All  these  subjects  united 
occupied  public  attention  at  the  commencement  of  the  new  session, 
1846,  which  was  only  remarkable  for  the  formation  of  a  powerful 
opposition  under  the  leadership  of  Thiers  and  Odillon  Barrot. 

The  most  important  law  passed  in  this  session  gave  the  gov- 
ernment an  extraordinary  credit  of  ninety-three  millions  for  the 
purpose  of  increasing  the  strength  of  the  navy,  both  in  men  and 
ships.  Many  projects  of  great  political  or  social  interest  were 
voted  by  the  one  or  the  other  chamber  in  the  course  of  this  ses- 
sion, but  did  not  become  law.  The  cabinet,  absorbed  in  tlie  diffi- 
cult operation  of  consolidating  its  power,  rejected  or  adjourned 
every  proposal  the  adoption  of  which  might  have  had  the  effect 
of  weakening  its  majority  in  the  next  elective  chamber.  Ft  was 
under  these  circumstances  that  the  elections  of  1846  took  place. 

The  influence  of  the  administrative  power  over  tlie  electoral 
body  had  never  been  more  marked  since  1830  than  at  the  general 
elections  of  i><jj>,  and  owing  to  this  the  cabinet,  in  direct  opjiosi- 
tion  to  pul^lic  opinion,  unduly  obtained  a  large  majority  in  the 
election  chamber.  It  happened,  indeed,  that  in  proportion  as  the 
cabinet  became  tu'jrc  unpui)ular  in  the  country  its  majority  be- 
came greater  and  greater  in  the  elective  chamber — a  great  danger 


R  E  V  0  L  I '  T  ION     ()  F     181-8  425 

1846 

botli  for  the  state  and  the  thr(Mie.  T;i  the  midst  of  tlicse  serious 
internal  affairs  _c;'ra\e  rHssensions  arose  l)et\vcen  France  and  Fn^- 
land  in  consequence  f-f  the  unfortunate  affair  known  as  tlie  S[)anish 
marriag'es.  In  Spain,  in  1844.  the  (jueen-mother  had  Ixen  recahed, 
and  in  1845  the  Cortes  had  dechired  her  daughter.  (Jueen  Isabella, 
of  ag"e.  Tn  184^)  the  younq-  f|uecn  married  her  cousin.  I-'rancis  dc 
Assise  of  Bourl)on.  while  her  sister,  the  Infanta  D(Mina  Luisa. 
espoused  the  Duke  of  Montpeusier.  the  fifth  S(^n  (^f  the  King  of  the 
I'^rench.  The  luiglish  government  through  Lord  Aberdeen,  in  re- 
turn for  the  prcimise  of  the  King  of  l-'rancc  that  the  Duke  of  ^b;)nt- 
pensier  should  take  no  steps  to  procure  his  marriage  with  the  In- 
fanta Donna  Luisa  until  the  Queen  of  Spain  should  have  a  child, 
had  engaged  that  no  prince  of  the  House  of  Coburg  should  become 
a  suitor  to  Queen  Isabella.  Lord  Palmerston.  however,  did  not 
adhere  to  the  engagement  entered  into  by  his  predecessor,  but 
sanctioned  the  candidature  of  the  Prince  of  Coburg-  for  the  queen's 
hand.  'J'hc  King  of  the  i'Vench  then  considered  that  he  was  re- 
lieved from  his  promise  and  authorized  the  simultaneous  publica- 
tion of  the  two  marriages.  On  receiving  this  tmexpccted  news  the 
I'jiglish  cabinet  denounced  the  marriag^e  of  the  Duke  of  Montpeu- 
sier as  a  direct  \inlatinn  (A  fine  of  the  clauses  of  the  Treaty  of 
Utrecht,  which  declared  that  the  crowns  of  I'^rance  and  Spain  should 
never  rest  on  the  same  head,  l^hese  accusations  were  evidently  ill- 
founded,  but  nevertheless  found  an  echo  in  the  two  hVench  cham- 
bers, where  it  was  said  that  the  government,  after  having  recently 
in  the  I'ritch.ard  affair  sacrificed  the  honor  of  the  country  for  the 
sake  of  remaining  on  cordial  terms  with  Lngland.  had  now  sacri- 
ficed this  alliance  for  the  sake  of  mere  famil}'  interests,  l^his  un- 
foi'tunate  misunderstanding  between  the  two  countries  rendered 
the  northern  powers  less  apprehensi\-e  of  offending"  the  b'rench  go\'- 
ernment  and  led  to  the  ruin  of  the  last  remnants  of  Polish  nation- 
ality. -At  the  close  of  the  insurrection  which  led  to  the  occupation 
of  the  city  of  Cracow  l)v  the  three  northern  p(n\ers.  the  latter  did 
what  they  had  not  hillicrto  \riilured  to  do,  and  \u>lria  annexed 
Cracow  with  the  absent  of  Uussia  and  Prussia,  kiance  and  P.ng- 
land  protested  .against  this  proceeding,  but  separatelv  and.  by  re- 
fusing- to  act  in  coucert.  i)rotested  in  \ain.  'fhe  (^p])osition  made 
tliis  circumstance  a  grounti  for  redoubling"  it>  \ioleiice  and  the  go\- 
ernment  was  condemned  on  all  sides  for  having  isolateil  Pr.ance  in 
Europe  by  its  errors,  and  for  having  been  as  imbecile  in  its  man- 


426  FRANCE 

1846 

as-ement  of  foreig-n  as  home  affairs.  In  the  meantime  the  neces- 
sity  for  certain  reforms  was  so  generally  felt  and  the  public  feeling 
on  the  matter  was  so  loudly  expressed  that  Giiizot  himself  at  length, 
in  a  celebrated  speech  delivered  at  Lisienx  after  his  reelection, 
showed  himself  extremely  favorable  to  a  wisely  progressive  policy. 
After  this  France  had  reason  to  hope  that  the  ministry  would  sup- 
port, in  1847,  the  liberal  measures  and  reforms  acknowledged  to  be 
the  most  urgent.  But  it  w-as  not  so,  for  this  session  surpassed  the 
preceding  in  insignificance,  and  no  law  of  any  importance,  political 
or  social,  was  carried  out. 

The  escape  of  Prince  Napoleon  from  the  fortress  of  Ham 
and  two  attempts  against  the  king's  life  had  recently  caused  fresh 
anxiety  in  the  public  mind,  and  the  session  opened  in  the  midst  of 
the  general  dismay  caused  by  destructive  inundations,  a  partial  fam- 
ine caused  by  bad  harvests  and  a  financial  crisis.  It  was  difficult, 
doubtless,  under  the  pressure  of  the  financial  necessities  of  the 
moment  to  make  any  serious  and  immediate  reforms  in  the  taxa- 
tion of  tlie  country,  and  the  cabinet  made  this  circumstance  a  pre- 
text for  rejecting  all  that  were  proposed.  At  the  same  time  it 
refused  to  listen  to  all  the  other  reforms,  all  the  great  measures 
which  were  considered  urgent  even  by  its  own  more  enlightened 
supporters — an  exhibition  of  obstinacy  on  the  part  of  the  French 
government  which  was  so  much  the  more  astonishing  because  it 
was  in  strange  contrast  with  the  liberal  movement  which  was  at 
this  time  taking  place  in  all  the  countries  of  Europe.  Germany  was 
again  demanding  the  fulfillment  of  the  promises  made  in  1813, 
and  most  of  its  states  were  engaged  in  establishing  new  constitu- 
tions. Holland  had  introduced  great  modifications  into  its  own ; 
Spain  was  attempting  under  its  young  queen  to  enter  upon  a  con- 
stitutional and  parliamentary  course"  in  Italy  the  venerable  Pius 
IX.,  who  had  been  recently  elevated  to  the  Pontifical  throne,  was 
inaugurating  a  new  era  of  liberty,  after  having  commenced  his 
reign  by  a  general  amnesty;  similar  reforms  were  being  made  in 
I'iL'dnirmt  by  ]\ing  Charles  Albert,  and  Great  i3ritain  now  Ijegan 
to  reap  the  fruits  of  her  great  parliamentary  reform.  The  general 
necessity  for  reform  was  felt  even  in  the  Turkish  empire,  and  the 
Snltan  Abdul-AIedjid  had  of  his  own  accord  granted  a  charter  to 
his  subjects. 

Louis  Philip's  government  at  this  time  followed  the  policy 
which  had  been  fatal  to  that  of  the  restoration  by  confounding  in 


R  i:  V  ()  LUT  I  ()  N     OF     ISiS  4^27 

1S46-1847 

an  almost  eciual  coiulemnation  all  the  uppDnents  of  the  cal)inct  with 
the  enemies  of  the  monarchy,  feaiini;-  that  if  it  made  concessions 
to  the  former  it  nn'i^dit  l)e  hurried  by  the  latter  into  a  revolutionary 
course.  This  perseverance  in  a  policy  of  status  quo  at  a  time  when 
lun'ope  sj^enerally  was  in  a  state  of  movement  and  in  the  presence 
of  numerous  (piestions  which  urgently  demanded  S(jlution — the 
dani^erous  oh-iinac}',  aj^'ainst  which  not  onl\-  a  ^reat  portion  oi 
the  conser\ati\  e  party  protested,  but  e\en  the  principal  or^-.an  of  tlu^ 
t;o\crnmcnt  and  the  mr>ral  head  of  the  c;'o\crnment — at  length  led 
the  dis(|uieled  and  anxious  nation  to  look  for  its  cause  in  a  (piarter 
which  was  lii,L;lR'r  than  the  ministrw  The  prtjtectiuL;'  \eil  which  the 
ccjnstitutiou  had  drawn  around  the  crown  had  loni[^  been  rent,  and 
at  no  period  had  the  sovereign  been  less  shielded  by  the  ministers 
than  now. 

The  king  was  growing  old  and  had  attained  that  age  at  wdu'ch 
a  mp.n's  opinions  become  i)ermanently  fixed,  wdiile  the  remembrances 
of  his  early  years  relmai  to  his  heart  with  increased  force,  ddie 
memories  of  l.duis  I'hilij)  kept  him  constantly  in  mind  of  tlie  bloody 
episodes  of  the  re\dlutionary  period,  and  showed  to  him.  as  was 
also  the  case  with  Ch.arles  X..  a  virtuous  but  feeble  king,  led  thrcjugh 
one  concession  after  another  to  the  scaffold,  his  family  slaughtered 
()\'  In  exile,  and  b'rance  ruined  and  twice  inwaded.  Then  he  re- 
marked that  when  he  had  received  the  crown  he  had  calmed  the 
tem])est.  reintroduced  ord.er  and  prosperity  within  the  kingdom  antl 
maintained  ])eace  abroad,  lie  remembered  tb.at  b'rance  and  all  lui- 
ropc  had  attributed  these  great  results  to  his  wisdom  and  to  the 
indexible  resistance  made  by  his  go\ernment  to  factious  attempts  as 
well  as  to  the  exaggerated  tlemands  of  ])ariies,  and  he  belie\'cd 
that  it  was  now  necessary  to  continue  this  policy,  and  to  adhere  to 
it  irre\(-cably  and  constantly.  As  this  ])rince  ne\ertheless  ob- 
served, under  e\'ery  circumstance,  the  strict  letter  of  the  constitu- 
tion, the  honor  of  having  done  stj  remains  his  in  history,  although 
it  was  i)(nverless  to  preser\e  his  throne  against  the  course  of  e\enis. 

While  the  action  of  the  go\ernment  seemed  thus  i)aralyzed. 
as  it  were,  within  the  country,  it  was  also  j)o\verless  abroad  in  con- 
sc(iucnce  of  its  fatal  dissension  with  baigland  on  the  subject  of  the 
Spanish  marriages.  The  two  powers  were,  howe\er,  agreed  in  su])- 
])orting  in  Portugal  the  throne  of  the  young  Oueen  Donna  Maria. 
which  had  been  shaken  by  the  twofold  insmax'cticjn  oi  the  Migiiclins 
and  the   ultra-radical   party.      The   l''renc!i   government,   lio\\e\er. 


428  FRANCE 

1847 

failed  in  its  attempt  to  mediate  between  the  contending  parties  in 
Switzerland,  where  the  radicals,  who  had  a  majority  in  the  diet 
assembled  at  Berne,  suppressed  by  force  of  arms  a  league  called 
the  Sonderbund,  which  had  been  formed  between  the  seven  Catholic 
cantons  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  their  cantonal  authority 
against  the  usurpers  of  the  federal  power.  A  circumstance  still  more 
injurious  to  the  influence  of  France  had  recently  taken  place  in  Italy. 
Astonished  and  disturbed  by  the  liberal  reforms  of  Pius  IX.  in  the 
Papal  states,  and  emboldened  also  by  the  rupture  between  England 
and  France,  Austria  had  entered  the  possessions  of  the  Holy  See 
for  the  purpose  of  preserving  her  Italian  possessions  from  the  con- 
tagion of  liberalism.  Her  troops  had  entered  Ferrara,  in  spite  of 
the  energetic  protests  of  the  cardinal  legate,  in  August,  1847,  ^^^ 
the  occupation  of  that  fortress  by  the  Austrians  had  thus  all  the 
characteristics  of  an  armed  invasion.  Irritated  public  opinion  asso- 
ciated this  fact  with  the  deplorable  act  by  which  the  republic  of 
Cracow  had  been,  in  the  course  of  the  preceding-  year,  annexed  to 
Austria,  with  the  consent  of  Russia  and  Prussia,  and  it  bitterl}^ 
reproached  the  cabinet  with  its  abandonment  of  the  liberal  cause  in 
Europe,  with  its  ill  will  towards  Italy  and  its  w-eakness  and  pow-er- 
lessness  in  its  relations  with  Austria  and  the  other  great  powers 
of  Europe. 

Such  was  the  position  of  home  and  foreign  affairs  when,  in 
consequence  of  the  retirement  of  Marshal  Soult,  Guizot  became 
president  of  the  council,  September,  1847.  The  opposition  organized 
an  agitation  throughout  France,  and  had  recourse  also  to  other 
means  for  rousing  and  agitating  the  people.  To  this  end,  for  two 
months  past,  banquets  had  been  organized  in  Paris  and  the  principal 
towns  in  the  kingdom,  at  wdiich  those  who  washed  to  strike  the 
dynasty  at  its  roots  had  unhappily  mixed  with  man)^  who  desired, 
by  reforming,  to  strengthen  it.  The  prejudiced  opinion  of  the  public 
led  them  to  receive  and  to  credit  the  most  absurd  and  often  the 
most  unfounded  charges,  and  a  fatal  concurrence  of  circumstances 
during  the  year  1847  g^^e  dangerous  food  to  the  popular  ill  will  and 
irritation.  Various  inquiries,  forced  on  the  public  outcry,  revealed, 
in  some  of  the  offices  under  the  ministers  of  war  and  marine,  con- 
siderable frauds  committed,  to  the  great  injury  of  the  state,  by 
subaltern  agents  of  those  in  power.  These  revelations,  though  grave 
enough  in  themselves,  proved  but  the  prelude  to  still  greater  scandals. 
Two  peers  of  France,   Teste  and   Despans   of  Cubieres,   both   of 


II  K  \  ()  L  U  T  I  ()  \     O  F     18  18  V2d 

1847 

them  formerly  ministers,  and  till  recently  members  of  the  cabinet, 
were  accused,  with  their  acccMiiplices.  and  sent  to  trial,  the  former 
for  rcceixin.L^  bribes  in  the  exercise  of  his  duties,  the  second  for 
having  facilitated  the  concession  of  a  mine  by  means  of  corruption 
exercised  on  a  minister  of  state.  The  court  of  peers  did  not  shrink 
from  their  duty,  and  pronc^unced  them  both  ci^uilty.  To  these  a:id 
other  ^q-rcat  scandals,  amcjnq-  which  may  be  mentioned  the  attempt 
at  suicide  by  Teste,  the  suicide  of  Count  I'resson.  the  I'rcnch 
ambassador  at  Xaplcs,  and  the  fri.q,iitful  murder  of  the  Duchess  of 
Praslin  by  her  husband,  who  subscciuently  poisoned  himself,  were 
then  addc'fl  qreat  misfortunes.  The  jierturbations  brou.i;ht  into 
commercial  affairs  .as  the  result  of  the  troubles  of  the  two  ])recedin;,'- 
}'ears.  and  still  more  the  unbridled  .abuse  of  si)eculation  and  th.o 
fe\"er  of  stockjobbing;',  had  caused  in  all  ranks  numberless  failures. 
In  vain  the  gallantry  of  the  army  in  Africa  threw  a  last  luster  upon 
the  reign;  it  had  subdued  the  Kabyles  and  drix'en  the  Emir  to  his 
final  retreat,  .\bd-cl  Kader  surrendered  to  Lamoriciere.  thus  bril- 
liantly inaugurating  the  Duke  of  Aumale's  go\ernment  of  Al- 
geria. But  at  this  epoch,  as  under  Charles  X..  after  the  conquest  of 
Algeria,  the  country  showed  itself  but  little  touched  by  a  glory 
of  which  some  part  belonged  to  an  unpopular  n>inistry.  which,  by 
holding  on  to  j)o\ver  after  the  o])inion  of  the  country  was  against 
it,  had  innamed.  strengthened,  and  rallied  against  itself  the  entire 
opposition  assembled  at  the  numerous  bruKjucts  which  agitated 
b^'ance  in  the  name  of  parliamentary  and  electoral  reform.  Such 
were  the  e\cnts  preceding  the  legislative  session  t)f  184(8,  the  last 
of  the  reign. 

.•\t  the  end  of  the  year  1847  nothing  was  irre\'ocably  lost. 
Matters,  it  is  true,  were  pushed  to  an  extreme,  but  the  elasticitv 
of  constitutional  institutions  is  great,  and  the  throne  oi  July,  .al- 
though t(~)ttering  and  threatened,  nught  ha\e  still  recoN'cred  itself, 
had  not  Guizot  bhiidly  ]X"rsisted  in  his  o|)positioii  to  jiopular  opinion 
in  resisting  the  kdectoral  Law  and  the  (lualification  for  candidates 
for  the  chamber  of  de])uties.  Impotent  to  gain  the  i)ublic  \'ote 
for  himself,  he  disdained  it.  he  bra\ed  it.  and  while  the  storm 
was  threatening  from  e\erv  point  of  tlie  political  horizon,  the  cabinet 
presented  itself  l)oldlv  before  the  re-assembled  chambers.  It  acceler- 
ated the  tempest  by  inserting,  at  the  commencement  of  the  session. 
in  the  address  to  the  throne,  after  some  promises  of  })rogrcssi\e 
ameli(irations.  an  imi)rudent  phrase,  by  which  the  oi)position  consid- 


430  FRANCE 

1847 

ered  that  all  the  opponents  of  the  administration  were  accused  of 
cherishing  blind  or  guilty  passions,  and  were  stigmatized  as  enemies 
to  the  monarchy.  The  drawing  up  of  the  address  in  answer  to  this 
speech  gave  rise  to  a  discussion  in  the  two  chambers,  which  was 
rendered  solemn  by  the  serious  position  of  affairs.  The  principal 
interest  of  tlie  debate  in  the  chamber  of  peers  was  centered  in  the 
foreign  policy  of  the  cabinet,  which  was  accused  of  having  displayed, 
in  the  speech  from  the  throne,  too  much  deference  for  Austria,  by 
remaining  silent  with  respect  to  the  reforms  promised  by  Pope  Pius 
IX.  and  some  other  of  the  Italian  princes.  Guizot  replied  to 
this  reproach  by  pointing  out  the  danger  of  exciting  the  revolution- 
ary passions,  already  too  much  inflamed  in  Italy,  where  demagogism, 
rallied  under  Mazzini's  flag,  threatened,  as  usual,  to  compromise,  by 
lamentable  excesses,  the  reforms  already  effected  or  projected. 
These  great  questions  were  discussed  with  even  more  force  and 
vehemence  in  the  debate  on  the  address  which  took  place  in  the 
elective  chamber.  ATany  of  the  most  eminent  orators,  including 
Lamartine,  Odillon  Barrot,  and  Thiers,  denounced  the  cabinet  to 
the  country  as  guilty  of  having  sacrificed  to  Austria  the  liberal  cause 
in  Poland,  Italy,  and  Switzerland.  Guizot  had  recourse,  in  his 
defense,  to  the  principal  arguments  already  produced  in  the  cham- 
ber of  peers,  and  produced  proofs  that,  in  respect  to  Poland,  his 
wishes  had  been  overruled  by  the  force  of  circumstances,  and  that  in 
Italy  and  Switzerland  he  had  defended  really  liberal  interests,  but 
added  that  he  could  not  blame  Austria  for  opposing  the  rash  and 
dangerous"  attempts  of  the  revolutionary  radicals.  The  ministry, 
however,  displayed  great  weakness  when  it  attempted  to  rebut  the 
reproach  of  electoral  corruption  hurled  against  it  by  eminent  orators 
on  every  bench  of  the  opposition,  and,  among  others,  by  Billault, 
who  submitted  the  following  amendment  to  the  draft  of  the  address : 
"  We  associate  ourselves,  sire,  with  the  wishes  of  your  majesty  Ijy 
demanding  of  your  government  that  it  should  before  all  things 
exert  itself  to  the  utmost  to  develop  the  morality  of  the  people,  and 
no  longer  to  enfeeble  it  by  fatal  examples."  Billault  then  ap- 
pealed to  the  conscience  of  the  chamber,  l)y  showing  that  the  electors 
scjld  tlieir  votes  for  offices,  that  the  deputies  looked  to  the  ministers 
to  reimburse  them  for  the  expenses  of  their  election,  and  that  the 
ministers,  although,  doubtless,  honest  themselves,  governed  by  these 
detestable  means,  lie  also  reproached  Guizot  and  Duchatel  with 
having  abandoned  their  principles  on  various  occasions  for  the  sake 


RE  VOL  IT  ION     or     18i8  4:51 

1847-1848 

of  retaining  power;  and  in  suppcjrt  of  these  accusations  he  einnncr- 
ated  a  long  series  of  facts  which  were  ah^eady  known,  and  the  fatal 
conse([uences  of  which  to  the  morality  of  tlie  country  he  forcihiy 
set  forth. 

A  still  mi>re  vi(jlent  debate  took  place  respecting  the  answer  to 
that  phi'ase  '<\  the  speech  from  the  throne,  hy  which  many  peers 
and  a  hundred  deputies,  who  had  taken  jiart  in  the  hancpiets  hy 
wdiich  iM'ance  had  been  agitated,  considered  themscK'es  to  he  par- 
ticularly attacked,  ami  the  legality  of  thrisc  han(niel^  was  at  the 
same  time  discussed  with  extreme  xd^'lence.  '1  lie  keeper  of  the 
seals,  Ilehert,  in  an  eloquent  and  sensible  s])i.'ech  enumerated  tlie 
grounds  on  which  the  government  w("»uld  h;i\e  the  right  to  ])re- 
vent  such  assemblies  when  they  tcn<led  to  di-iurb  the  public  |)eace. 
and  declared  that  it  would  not  give  w.iy  bef^ire  any  seiliti(?u.-, 
manifestation.  To  this  dehance  Du\ergier  de  I  lauranne  replied  by 
another,  lie  would  not  yield,  he  said,  to  the  uk-ase  of  a  minister, 
and  he  was  ready  to  join  .all  who.  b_\-  some  decided  act  of  resistance, 
would  prove  that  the  rights  f)f  I'renchmen  mii;ht  not  be  desiroveii 
by  a  mere  decree  of  the  police.  This  proof  was  to  consist  in  the 
assembly  of  the  j^rincipal  deputies  of  th.e  opj-x  Kiti^  m  at  a  reform 
banrpiet  wdiich  had  been  already  arrangetl  to  t.ake  place  in  the  uth 
arrondissement  of  l\iris,  and  which  had  I)een  interdicted  bv  the 
authorities.  d'his  formidable  defiance,  v^liich  had  the  etYect  of 
transferring  the  debate  frcm  the  tloors  of  the  chambers  to  the 
public  thoroughfares,  v.'as  follDwed  by  the  volc  of  the  address,  in 
wdiich  the  opjjosition  had  not  succeeded  in  procuring  ;i  single  amend- 
ment, or  the  insertion  of  any  decided  j)romi<e  ■■!'  re-f^ 'I'm  on  the  p;irt 
of  the  ministry.  The  day  for  the  annoimced  dem  )ns^i\itifjn  drew 
near. 

ddie  stormy  del)ates  on  the  address  had  caused  the  greatest 
excitement  aniung  the  numeroirs  elassi-s  nf  the  p^pulaiion.  whicli 
were  alre.adv  disturbed  and  inllamed  b\-  the  >j)cec!ies  deliwred  ;it 
the  se\'ent';  reform  ban(|uets  which  h.ad  tak'en  pLice  in  tlie  i)rinci])al 
cities  (if  the  kingdom,  ddie  hope  of  dbtainiiig  t];e  re\enge  Si  >  long 
postponed  had  returned  to  the  re]iubncan  and  U'L,otimist  enemies  i^i 
the  dynasty,  and  the  seci'et  societies,  the  anarchist^,  and  tlie  political 
refugees,  recruited  by  the  demagiigues,  rec'ixeri'd  their  courage. 
silently  armed  themscKes.  and  j)repared  for  the  tinal  slruL^gle  wiiii 
the  monarchy.  Intimidated,  with  to,  i  imich  reasMii,  h\-  tliese  terrif\-- 
ing  symptoms,  the  deputies  of  the  dynastic  opjiositii.ui  and  the  cahi- 


432  FRANC  E 

1848 

net  itself  hesitated  to  provoke  a  dangerous  explosion.  They  agreed 
that  the  banquet  demonstration  should  be  reduced  to  a  simple  meet- 
ing, and  such  formal  proceedings  as  would  be  sufficient  to  enal^le 
the  legal  authorities  of  the  country  to  decide  the  question  of  the 
right  of  holding  public  meetings.  The  radical  opposition  which 
desired  to  struggle  at  any  price  would  not  rest  contented  with  so 
peaceful  an  arrangement,  and  called  upon  the  schools,  the  national 
guard,  and  all  Paris,  in  fact,  to  take  part  in  a  decided,  although 
pacific  demonstration,  which  was  announced  on  February  21  for 
the  morrow  in  the  radical  journals.  The  National  and  The  Reform. 

On  the  unexpected  appearance  of  this  programme,  Odillon  Bar- 
rot  and  hij  friends  of  the  dynastic  opposition  determined  not  to  take 
part  in  the  banquet.  Being  divided,  however,  between  the  honest 
sentiment  which  led  them  to  abstain  from  what  they  thought  might 
cause  public  misfortunes  and  a  dread  of  losing  their  popularity  by 
appearing  to  shrink  from  danger,  and  being  at  the  same  time  con- 
trolled by  their  antecedents  and  a  fatal  position,  they  deposited  in 
the  bureau  of  the  chamber  a  formal  accusation  against  the  cabinet, 
which,  without  proving  of  any  advantage  to  themselves,  added  fresh 
fuel  to  the  popular  excitement.  The  dreaded  revolution  burst  forth 
on  the  22d  of  February,  amid  shouts  of  "  Long  live  reform !  " 
"Down  with  Guizot!" 

Feeble  at  first,  and  uncertain,  the  insurrection  appeared,  on  the 
first  day.  at  several  points  at  once:  at  the  Champs  Elysees,  on  the 
Place  de  la  Concorde,  and  in  certain  suburbs,  where  barricades 
were  erected  and  abandoned.  The  fire  which  was  everywhere 
smoldering,  was  slow  to  burst  forth,  but  being  only  timidly  sup- 
pressed, it  speedily  grew  fierce,  and  on  the  second  day  had  involved 
all  Paris.  All  hope,  however,  was  not  yet  lost.  The  resources  of 
the  government  were  great,  the  garrison  did  its  duty,  and  various 
regiments  hastened  to  march  upon  the  capital.  But  the  national 
guard  answered  badly  to  the  government  summons,  and  the  few 
weak  battalions  which  took  up  arms  appeared  much  more  disposed 
to  interfere  between  the  regular  troops  and  the  insurgents  than 
to  oppose  the  latter.  The  adoption  of  this  attitude  by  the  national 
guard  at  length  made  tlie  king  resolve  to  yield  to  necessity,  and  on 
the  evening  of  February  22  it  became  known  that  he  had  invited 
Mole  to  form  a  new  cabinet.  Paris  now  immediately  illuminated, 
and  tin's  news  was  everywhere  received  with  tremendous  accla- 
mations as  a  happy  omen  of  conciliation  and  peace.     P>ut  on  tliis 


o 


R  E  \  C)  I.  UTI  {)  \     OF     18  4-8  433 

1848 

same  cveniii<;-  a  fatality  caused  everything'  to  be  l^st.  A  1)atlali<)n 
of  infantry  of  tlie  line,  stationed  in  front  of  the  forcii;n  otVice, 
in  the  Boulevard  des  Capncines,  Hred  without  orders  upon  the  ninl) 
which  crowded  the  boulevard  and  the  adjacent  streets,  and  in  an 
instant  tlie  i^Tiiund  was  strewn  with  xictims.  At  this  si.c;"ht  the  furv 
of  the  pei)j)le  was  once  more  aroused  to  its  utmost  pitch.  The 
fatal  news  tlew  from  mmUh  to  month  ;  the  suburbs  arose;  Paris 
became  covered  with  an  interminable  network  of  barricades,  and  by 
the  morniuQ'  the  (|uarter  of  the  l\ulerie:;  was  alnmst  entirely  co\-- 
ered  with  them.  Ik-fore  such  perils  at  these  Mole  was  powerless, 
and  withdrew,  while  the  court  perceived  that  a  vit^nrous  and 
desperate  resistance  had  i)ecome  absolutely  necessary.  The  victor 
of  Tsly,  ^farslial  Buq^eaufl,  was  appointed  before  daybreak  to  the 
command  oi  the  troojis,  and  everv  preparation  was  made  f(^r  a 
bloody  and  decisive  battle.  Tn  the  meantime  the  kincf  entrusted  the 
conduct  of  affairs  to  the  leaders  of  the  ivudiameiuary  opposition, 
'J'hiers  and  Odillon  Barrot,  who.  trusting'  to(j  implicitly  to  their 
popularity,  beliexed.  tluit  they  ccmld  appease  tlic  rex'olution  by  their 
mere  words  and  presence.  They  put  a  stop  to  the  firing"  of  the 
troof)s,  and  recalled  l>u,q;ea'Ud,  who,  with  ci^ricf  and  rage,  saw  his 
sword  broken  in  his  hands.  Distracted  by  contrary  orders,  the 
soldiers  remained  some  time  in  a  state  oi  indecision  and  inaction, 
then  abandoned  the  barricades  to  the  insurgents,  and  to  a  great 
extent  fraternized  with  them.  After  this  the  insurgents  became 
innumerable,  and  ad\anced  in  a  dense  luass  towards  the  Tuileries, 
Bonis  I'hili]).  at  the  instig'atiou  of  the  (|ueen,  mounted  his  horse 
and  re\'ie\\ed  in  the  Carrousel  several  regiments  and  a  few  weak 
battalions  of  the  national  guai'ds.  The  regular  troops  received 
liini  with  cries  of  "  / '/:v'  /.•  Jvail  "  but  the  national  guards  replied 
with  the  cry  of  "Reform!  reform!"  the  password  of  the  revolu- 
tionists, and  the  discouraged  monarch  reentered  his  palace.  I'rom 
this  time  the  irresolution  of  the  king,  and  all  wIk^  p<issessed  wen 
a  semblance  of  authority,  becaiue  greatei'  and  greater,  while  the 
insui'reciion  inressanlly  increased,  filled  all  the  approaches  to  the 
l)alace,  knocked  at  its  doors  and  was  at  the  point  of  bursting 
through  tliem.  Louis  J'hilip  still  delibei-ated.  Beside  him  was 
the  (jueen  filled  with  inex])ressible  grief,  but  resigned.  Around 
him  were  the  |)rincesses  in  tears,  stupefied  courtiers,  mute  generals, 
])owerless  and  terrilied  ministers.  The  word  abdication  was  ut- 
tered.    Many  voices  repeated  it,  and   urged   the  king  to  consent 


484  FRANCE 

1848 

to  it  and  to  sign  it.  Louis  Philip,  apparently  calm  and  emotionless, 
took  his  pen  and  wrote  these  words,  "  I  abdicate  in  favor  of  the 
Count  of  Paris,  my  grandson,  and  I  hope  that  he  may  be  happier 
than  I  have  been."  After  he  had  signed  this  act  of  abdication  the 
king  retired  by  the  only  means  of  exit  which  remained  free,  and 
the  mob  forthwith  burst  into  the  palace. 

A  woman  clothed  in  mourning — the  Duchess  of  Orleans — was 
the  last  to  leave  the  Tuileries  with  her  two  children,  and  in  this 
extremity  many  voices  expressed  a  wish  that  the  regency,  which 
the  law  gave  to  the  Duke  of  Nemours,  could  be  conferred  on  the 
duchess.  Courageous  and  resolved  to  brave  death  in  the  fulfill- 
ment of  a  great  duty,  she  passed  through  the  threatening  crowd  in 
order  to  present  her  son  to  the  two  chambers.  She  proceeded 
under  the  escort  of  the  Duke  of  Nemours  and  the  protection  of  a 
few  friends  to  the  chamber  of  deputies,  where  Dupin  introduced 
her  as  the  regent  of  the  kingdom.  \\'hen  the  duchess  took  a 
seat  in  front  of  the  tribune  with  her  brother-in-law  Nemours  and 
her  two  sons,  Dupin  and  Odillon  Barrot  endeavored  to  procure 
such  an  enthusiastic  reception  for  the  new  king  by  the  dep- 
uties as  had  been  accorded,  after  the  revolution  of  July,  to  the 
Duke  of  Orleans.  But  the  elective  chamber,  which  did  not  repre- 
sent the  nation  and  public  opinion,  as  it  did  in  1830,  had  no  in- 
fluence with  the  public  and  was  also  penetrated  with  a  sense  of 
its  own  weakness.  Its  place  of  assembly  was  violated,  while  it 
was  actually  sitting,  by  armed  bands,  and  its  president,  Sauzet, 
himself  abandoned  it.  Four  deputies — Cremieux,  Marie,  Ledru- 
Rollin  and  Lamartine — demanded  the  nomination  of  a  provisional 
government,  the  members  of  which  were  immediately  pointed  out 
with  acclamations  by  the  voices  of  the  insurgents  and  those  of  a 
few  deputies  mingled  together.  Chambers,  regenc3^  royalty,  all 
disappeared  in  the  tempest,  and  on  the  following  day  the  provisional 
government  proclaimed  the  republic. 


Chapter    XXVT 

THK  si-.coxn  Ri:i'i;i!Lic\    is^s  iSs2 

AS  soon  rts  it  was  cxiilcnt  that  there  \\a^  ii"  hope  of  c-tal)Ii-li- 
ZJm  inij;-  tlie  ("onnt  of  I'ari^  nn  tlie  thrMin,'  of  his  q-rand father, 
X  -A^tlic  Duclicss  (^f  Orleans  .anil  her  brothers-in-law,  tlic  !)nke^ 
of  Xcnioiirs  and  of  .MoiUpensier.  hastened  to  lea\e  I'aris  and  re- 
paired to  h'nql.and  with  the  ex-Kini;-  a.nd  (_)neen  of  the  h'rench  and 
took  up  their  residence  in  Clarcmont,  which  was  i)laced  at  their 
(Hsposal  h}"  Leopold,  Kini;'  I'f  the  Helqaans.  to  w  honi  the  palace  then 
belonged.  The  ])rnicipal  members  of  the  i)ro\isional  Q(i\ernment 
of  Fel)ruarv  j.|,  iS.iS.  waa-e  i)n])ont  de  Thaire,  ])re<ident  (if  the  coun- 
cil. Lamartine,  minister  for  foreiL;'n  alYa.irs,  (_"i\'inien\,  f '  a'  iu<t''-e. 
Ledru-I\i  ijlin.  for  tl;e  interiiir,  <  ii  aidiciiaaix,  f<ir  l!n;:i:re,  .\ra,L:o.  \,'V 
na\'al  affairs,  Carnot.  for  public  in>tructinn.  HethnrMU.  na"  com- 
merce. Marie,  for  public  \\iMi<>.  and  (  ieneral  Sul)ei'\ie,  f'lr  w  '.v. 
Colonel  C'ourtais  was  appointed  Ci 'nanaaider  of  the  national  quard 
of  I'aris  and  (  larnier-rat^'cs  ma\iir  <t  that  cit\",  with  ciniir'il  <>\ 
the  police;  while  (ieneral  C'a.\aii;iiac  w;;s  made  i;-o\"eiai<ir  of  Algeria 
in  place  of  the  Duk'e  of  Aumale.  In  addition  to  the-e  the  ])rocda.m;i- 
tions  of  the  qo\-ernment  were  sii;'ned  li\"  Arm;;nd  Mari'ast.  hdoron, 
Louis  J'.lanc  and  Albert,  who,  in  that  spirit  (>f  pride  which  is  apt  to 
ape  hunuditw  (wtentatiousK-  added  .'//:'r;'iT  i  artisan")  to  his  siqaia- 
tnre;  Imt  these  men  held  no  higher  lA'Ucc  than  that  of  secretaries  (o 
the  i^'overnment.  The  first  act  of  the  nc-w  l;' '\  crnnient  was  tlie  proc- 
lamation of  the  republic  fmm  the  Motel  de  \'ille  on  Lebiaia.rv  jo. 
At  the  same  time  another  prodamatii 'U  was  i><ued,  'leclariuL;'  titai 
mniiarcliN'  was  abolished  icrexer  m  Li'ance,  wliile  measures  were 
tak'cn  for  the  reorq'ani/ation  of  ihe  nationad  i^aiard  and  the  relief 
of  the  Working'  clashes,  am.iMi;;'  whom  there  was  much  distress  at 
the  tune.  A  declaration  was  made  to  the  elTect  that  the  qoxern- 
ment  considered  it  its  duty  to  pro\-ide  work  f<  a'  all  citizens  who  were 
able  and  willim;'  to  do  it,  and  death  for  i^olitical  offenses  was  abi)!- 
islied.  .April  ()  was  fixed  on  for  the  eka^tion  of  members  of  a  na- 
tional assembly,  whose  duty  it  would  be  to  frame  a  new  constitution 


436  FRANCE 


1S48 


for  the  country.  It  was  to  be  composed  of  nine  hundred  members. 
Every  Frenchman  of  twenty-one  years  of  age  was  to  be  entitled 
to  vote,  if  nothing-  untoward  had  occurred  to  deprive  him  of  civil 
rights,  and  each  department  w^as  to  return  members  in  proportion 
to  its  population. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  members  of  the  provisional 
government  occupied  a  position  that  was  free  from  danger  during 
their  period  of  office.  Troubles  arose  through  the  dissatisfaction  of 
the  officers  and  men  of  the  old  national  guard  at  the  manner  in 
which  the  new  body  was  reorganized,  and  on  March  26  a  great 
demonstration  of  the  working  classes  was  directed  against  the  gov- 
ernment. But  any  evil  that  might  have  arisen  w^as  prevented  by  the 
calmness  and  tact  of  Lamartine,  who  appears  to  have  acted  with 
judgment  and  moderation  during  his  continuance  in  office.  A  more 
serious  attempt  to  overthrow  the  provisional  government  and  to 
prevent  the  establishment  of  the  republic  on  a  safe  and  sure  basis 
was  made  on  April  16  by  the  insurrectionists  and  members  of  the 
revolutionary  clubs,  the  red  republicans,  as  they  were  aptly  termed, 
who  at  the  instigation  of  Barbes  and  Blanqui  sought  to  postpone 
the  elections  indefinitely,  which  had  already  been  put  off  to  April 
23,  and  to  form  a  "  Committee  of  Public  Safety  "  after  the  pattern 
of  the  body  of  that  name  in  the  revolution  of  1793.  The  govern- 
ment, however,  had  timely  information  of  their  intention.  The 
command  of  the  troops  was  given  to  General  Changarnier,  and  as 
the  insurgents  commenced  a  movement  on  the  Hotel  de  Ville  they 
found  themselves  literally  surrounded  by  the  thousands  of  national 
guards,  who  had  hastily  run  to  arms  at  the  summons  of  Lamartine 
and  his  colleagues.  No  further  opposition  was  then  offered  to 
the  elections.  On  May  4  the  national  assembly  was  formally 
opened.  The  members  of  the  provisional  government  resigned 
office,  and  on  the  loth  an' executive  commission  was  appointed  by 
ballot,  consisting  of  Arago,  Lamartine,  Marie,  Garnier-Pages  and 
Ledru-Rollin.  Scarcely  had  this  been  done  when  the  reds,  led  by 
Barbes  and  Blanqui  and  encouraged  by  Louis  Blanc,  took  advantage 
of  a  proposal  to  send  aid  to  Poland,  which  was  to  be  discussed  in 
the  assembly,  and  to  which  Lamartine  and  three  of  his  colleagues 
were  known  to  be  opposed,  to  attempt  to  create  new  disturbances. 
On  May  15  the  Palais  Bourbon,  then  the  legislative  palace,  in  which 
the  meetings  of  the  assembly  were  held,  was  invaded  by  twenty 
thousand  armed  rioters.  General  Courtais,  who  had  the  command  of 


T  IT  i:    s  E  r  0  \  D    u  i:  p  v  b  l  i  c  437 

18J8 

the  national  i^uard,  havint^  taken  no  precautions  to  prevent  tlie 
attack.  l"\)r  a  few  liours  the  men  oi  ilie  suburbs  had  it  their  own 
way.  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  cstablisli  a  jjrovisional  government 
at  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  but  bv  nine  in  the  evening-,  owing  to  the 
prompt  measures  taken  by  Laniartine.  J>arbes  and  Raspail,  with 
others  of  tlie  leaders,  were  arrested  and  the  riot  was  brought  to  an 
entl.  Tieneral  Ca\-aignac  was  tlien  appointed  minister  of  war,  and 
Henera!  Courtais  was  replaced  in  the  command  of  the  national 
g'uard  by  Colonel  Cdement  Thomas.  On  llie  following  day  a  grand 
review  of  the  national  guard  was  held  in  the  Champ  de  .^lars,  and 
shortly  after  lUancpii  was  arrested  and  sent  to  Vincennes. 

Among  the  earliest  acts  of  the  new  national  assembly  was  a 
decree  declaring  the  i~)eri)etual  banishment  of  T.ouis  Philip  and 
the  Orleans  i)rinces,  and  temp(.)rarv  re\i\al  of  the  decrees  against 
the  Ijonaparte  family,  in  eonse(|uence  of  the  return  of  Prince  Pouis 
Napoleon  for  the  de{)artment  of  the  Seine  and  three  other  depart- 
ments. C(^nse(|uentl\'  the  ])rince  did  n(tt  take  his  seat  as  a  member  of 
tlie  assembly.  Although  the  late  attem|)t  of  the  reds  to  sub\ert  the 
go\-eriunent  had  been  frustrated,  the  revolutionists  were  in  no  way 
disposed  to  submit,  and  in  conse(|uence  of  the  declared  intention 
of  the  go\ernment  to  close  the  nati<.)nal  workshops,  the  working 
classes,  incited  by  the  clubbists  and  revolutionary  agents,  ran  to 
arms  throughout  Paris  on  the  night  of  June  23.  On  the  ft)]lMwing 
morning  Paris,  bristling  with  barricades,  was  declared  in  a  state  of 
siege  l)y  (leneral  Cavaignac.  who  prom])tlv  drove  the  insurgents 
from  tljc  left  b;mk  of  the  SeiiiC.  Severe  fighting  and  much  blood- 
shed followed,  and  it  w;is  not  until  the  e\ening  of  the  25th  that  the 
suburb  of  the  'rem])le,  the  last  stronghold  of  tlic  insurgents,  was 
stormed  and  taken  after  a  hea\y  cannonade,  and  the  city  once  more 
brought  umler  tlie  control  of  the  go\-ernment.  AtTre.  the  Arch- 
bishoj-)  of  J'aris.  was  mortrdly  wounded  in  a  barricade  in  the  ]Mace 
de  la  l)aslille  while  he  was  imj)loring  the  insurgents  to  lav  down 
their  arms,  and  it  is  estimated  that  at  least  sixteen  thousand  j^ersons 
were  killed  and  wounded  in  this  outbreak,  \\hile  elexen  thousand 
were  taken  ]irisoners  or  arretted  for  having  been  concerned  in  it. 
.Among  the  chief  instigators  of  the  re\'olt  were  Loin's  lilanc  and 
Caussidiere.  but  being  present  when  a  motion  was  brought  on  iov 
their  prosecution  in  the  national  assembly,  they  made  their  escape 
and  ded  to  ICngland.  Cicneral  Cavaignac  was  then  ajjpointcd  iiead 
of  the  executive,  with  the  title  of  president  of  the  council,  and  on 


438  FRANCE 

1848- 184S 

July  4  a  formal  announcement  was  made  of  the  suppression  of  the 
national  workshops. 

The  national  assembly  now  turned  its  attention  to  the  prepara- 
tion of  a  constitution  for  the  new  republic.  By  this  it  was  provided 
that  there  should  be  but  one  legislative  chamber,  and  that  the  head 
of  the  executive  should  be  a  president  who  should  be  elected  by  uni- 
versal suffrage  every  four  years,  as  in  the  United  States.  The  tem- 
porary enactment  against  the  return  of  the  Bonapartes  to  France, 
to  which  reference  has  been  made,  was  revoked  by  the  assembly,  and 
Prince  Louis  Napoleon,  who  had  taken  his  seat  in  September  for 
the  department  of  the  Seine,  became  a  candidate  for  the  office 
against  General  Cavaignac,  Raspail,  Ledru-Rollin  and  Lamartine. 
The  last  three  got  but  few  votes,  and  the  contest  lay  in  reality  be- 
tween the  republican  general  and  the  heir  of  Napoleon  I.,  of  whom 
the  latter  was  elected  by  6,048,072  votes  to  1,479,121  registered  for 
his  opponent.  The  prince  was  formally  proclaimed  as  President  of 
the  French  Republic  on  December  20,  his  tenure  of  office  to  continue 
till  May  9,  1852.  On  the  following  day  he  took  his  oath  of  office 
to  preserve  the  republic  inviolable,  and  shortly  after  announjed  the 
formation  of  his  cabinet,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Odillon  Barrot. 

The  extreme  section  of  the  republican  party  were  by  no  means 
contented  with  the  measures  that  had  been  taken  to  reestablish 
order  in  France,  and  undeterred  by  their  defeat  in  the  preceding 
June,  again  sought  to  rouse  the  working  classes  into  action  against 
the  government  in  January,  1849.  Information,  however,  respect- 
ing the  intended  outbreak  was  conveyed  to  the  government,  and 
prompt  measures  were  taken  to  prevent  a  rising.  The  revolution- 
ists had  their  friends  in  the  national  assembly,  and  these,  disap- 
pointed at  finding  that  'the  governing  powers  were  stronger  and 
more  on  the  alert  than  they  had  hoped,  proposed,  the  impeachment 
of  ministers  through  their  chief  spokesman,  Ledru-Rollin,  and  even 
carried  the  proposal  by  a  small  majority  in  the  national  assembly. 
The  ministry  was  strong  enough  to  disregard  thi's  and,  to  show 
how  little  they  feared  the  attacks  of  the  red  party,  either  within 
or  without  the  assembly,  immediately  took  measures  for  bringing 
the  instigators  of  the  insurrections  of  J\Iay  and  June  in  the  pre- 
ceding year  to  trial  before  a  high  court  of  justice,  held  at  Bourges 
in  March,  1849.  The  result  was  that  Barbes  and  Albert  {oiivricr) 
were  transported  fur  Hfe,  Blanqui  {or  ten  years  and  Raspail  and 
others  for  shorter  terms.     It  was  not  only  in  France  that  the  revo- 


THE     SECOND     REPUBLIC  439 

1849-1850 

lution  of  1848  worked  mischief  to  all  classes.  Discontent  and  re- 
bellion against  duly  constituted  authority  broke  out  in  fever  Hushes 
of  insurrection  in  many  i)arts  of  ICurope,  and  in  the  Papal  states  a 
constituent  assembly  was  formed  in  1849.  and  the  Roman  republic 
proclaimed.  The  Pope  aj)peale(l  to  the  Catholic  states  of  Europe 
lor  aid  aq;ainst  his  rebellious  subjects,  and  bVance,  contrary  to  the 
general  ex[)ectation.  was  the  first  to  respond  to  his  cry  for  assist- 
ance. A  large  majority  in  the  national  assembly  decided  ou  giving 
immediate  support  to  the  Pope  by  armed  intervention,  and  (leneral 
Oudinot  was  sent  to  Italy  at  the  head  of  a  considerable  force,  and 
after  landing  at  Civita  Vecchia,  marched  on  Rome  and  made  prep- 
arations f(jr  an  attack  on  the  city  on  the  west  side.  The  siege  com- 
menced on  June  3,  1849,  but  the  defense  was  bravely  sustained  by 
Garibaldi  for  more  than  three  weeks.  Jn  spite  of  his  efforts,  how- 
ever, several  of  his  positions  were  carried  by  assault,  and  on  June 
30  Rome  was  taken.  The  Pope's  authority  was  immediately  re- 
establislied  throughout  his  dominions,  Init  he  was  not  sutViciently 
powerful  to  repress  any  further  outbreak  that  might  hap])en.  It 
was  thought  best  that  Cicneral  Oudinot  and  his  troops  should  occu])y 
the  city  and  secure  the  Vnpc  against  a  second  expulsion  from  his 
territory,  'i'lie  .■^teps  taken  by  the  French  government  to  destroy 
the  newly-born  Roman  re[)ublic  were  extremely  distasteful  to  the 
reds,  who  saw  in  it  onl\'  too  certain  a  proof  of  the  strength  of  the 
ministry.  On  June  14  Ixdru-Rollin  and  the  chiefs  of  the  red  party 
made  a  fresh  attempt  to  incite  insurrection  in  Paris.  A  few  barri- 
cades were  thrown  u|)  here  and  there,  but  the  rising  was  s]->eedily 
suppressed,  arid  the  instigators  of  the  outbreak  comj^elled  to  pre- 
serve their  liberty  by  immediate  tlight  to  Juigland,  whose  hospitality 
they  vi(jlated  by  constant  plotting  against  the  government  they 
feared  and  hated. 

This  for  some  years  was  the  last  open  act  of  rebellion  against 
constituted  authority  in  Paris.  The  year  1850  was  not  marked  in 
I'Tance  by  any  incident,  social  or  political,  that  deserves  jjarticular 
notice,  except  the  measures  that  were  taken  in  September  of  that 
year  to  place  certain  restrictions  on  freedom  of  discussitMi.  in  con- 
se([uence  of  the  undue  license  of  language  used  by  a  great  part  of 
the  b'rench  press  against  the  ])resident  and  his  ministers.  The 
new  re])ressi\e  ])ress  laws  were,  as  might  ha\e  been  expected,  dis- 
tasteful to  the  re[)ublican  jiarty.  ( icneral  Changarnier,  an  Algerian 
veteran,  who  was  commander-in-chief  of  the  national  guards  of 


440  FRANC  E 

1850-1851 

Paris  and  the  troops  of  the  first  mihtary  division,  did  not  hesitate 
to  express  freely  his  opinions  of  the  course  sanctioned  by  the  presi- 
dent, and  this  led  to  a  misunderstanding  which  resulted  in  his  re- 
moval from  his  command  in  January,  185 1.  The  legislative  assem- 
bly also  took  occasion  to  express  its  disapproval  of  the  acts  of  the 
president  and  his  ministry.  Odillon  Barrot  was  now  no  longer  in 
office,  his  cabinet  having  been  dismissed  in  1849  ^^^  ^^^  decisions  on 
many  questions  which  were  presented  to  the  members  for  discussion. 
A  vote  of  want  of  confidence  in  the  ministry  was  proposed,  and 
carried  by  a  large  majority,  and  this  was  followed  by  a  conditional 
acceptance  of  the  president's  dotation  bill.  A  motion  for  the  re- 
vision of  the  constitution  was  passed,  it  is  true,  on  June  19,  but 
the  majority  in  favor  of  the  motion  not  being  large  enough  accord- 
ing to  French  parliamentary  law  at  that  time,  it  was  declared  to 
be  rejected.  It  was  clear  that  a  gulf  was  opening  between  the 
president  and  the  national  assembly  that  could  be  bridged  over  by 
nothing  except  arbitrary  measures  on  one  side  or  the  other,  which 
would  tend  to  destroy  the  party,  whichever  it  might  be,  against 
whom  they  were  directed.  The  assembly  thwarted  the  president  and 
his  ministers,  and  strove  to  throw  on  them  the  odium  of  all  repres- 
sive measures  that  might  be  passed,  while  the  president  himself, 
when  on  a  tour  of  inspection  in  some  of  the  departments,  did  not 
hesitate  at  Dijon  to  speak  of  the  assembly  as  being  willing  enough 
to  sanction  any  laws  of  repression  that  were  proposed  to  them,  al- 
though they  took  care  to  offer  the  most  persistent  opposition  to  any 
measures  that  were  proposed  by  the  government  for  the  ameliora- 
tion of  the  condition  of  the  people  at  large. 

It  must  be  remembered,  in  considering  the  event  that  is  about 
to  be  described,  that  Louis  Napoleon,  from  an  early  period  of  his 
life,  had  always  aimed  at  attaining  supreme  power  in  France,  and 
that  his  conduct  since  his  elevation  to  the  presidential  chair  had 
been  sedulously  shaped  to  the  realization  of  that  end.  His  defense 
of  tlie  Pope's  rights  in  Italy  had  won  over  the  clergy  to  his  side ; 
his  frequent  reviews  and  addresses  to  the  French  troops,  in  which, 
naturally  enough,  he  dwelt  on  the  glory  reaped  by  the  soldiery  of 
L>ancc  under  the  empire,  secured  the  army,  while  the  rural  popula- 
tion were  attracted  by  the  desire,  which  he  so  frequently  expressed 
(luring  his  tours,  to  effect  an  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the 
artisan  classes,  whether  agricultural  or  manufacturing.  It  was  dif- 
licult  to  procure  any  fundamental  change  in  the  constitution  through 


T  hi:    s e  ( " o  n  d    r  k  r  r  in .  m •  ■H^ 

1351 

the  legislative  assembly,  because  it  craild  ih't  be  made  without  the 
sanction  of  three- fourths  of  the  members,  and  there  were  too  many 
of  the  republican  party  in  the  asseml)ly  to  render  success  in  any 
project  of  extending  the  term  of  the  president's  authority  ])y  this 
means  even  probable.  Xothing  remained  but  to  effect  this  by  the 
subversion  of  the  existing  constitution,  and  as  the  legislative  assem- 
bly had  rejected,  in  November,  a  bill  introduced  at  the  =:u,crL^ ,  stii»ii 
of  the  president  for  the  establishiment  of  um'versal  suffrage  in 
France,  it  was  resolved  by  Louis  Xapoleon  and  his  advisers  to  resf)rt 
to  violent  and  indeed  unconstitutional  means  fnr  the  accomplish- 
ment of  his  chief  object,  his  continuance  in  power.  A  CiU(p  (Vctat 
was  resolved  on.  and  this  was  carried  into  effect  on  December  2, 
1S51.  Various  decrees  were  issued,  by  one  of  which  the  legislative 
assembly  was  declared  dissolved,  wdiile  by  another  universal  suffrage 
was  ordered  to  be  reestablished  throughout  l''rancc.  I'aris  was 
also  declared  m  a  state  of  siege  and  it  was  propr)se(l  that  a  jiresident 
should  be  elected  for  ten  years  and  commissioned  to  prepare  a  con- 
stitution for  bVance.  It  would  ha\e  been  dangerous  to  llie  presi- 
dent's projects  to  have  those  men  at  liberty  who  were  likely  to  be 
most  able  and  most  willing  to  take  steps  to  thwart  them,  and 
accordingly  Thiers  and  the  re|)ubHcan  generals  ("hangarnier. 
Cavaignac,  Eedeau,  Lamorciere  and  LcHo.  willi  about  seventy 
others,  were  arrested  in  their  houses  a  little  before  dawn,  and  taken 
quickly  and  silently  to  the  castle  of  Vincemies.  Ilerryer.  the  eminent 
legitimist  barrister,  and  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  meml)crs 
of  the  assembly,  who  attempted  to  meet  when  tlie  news  was  sjjread 
abroad  on  the  following  day,  were  :dso  ])l;iced  in  (hnance.  and 
e\'erv  part  of  Paris  was  occu])icd  by  troops,  whivh  h;id  been  marched 
to  their  destination  in  the  dead  of  night.  I'.y  \igorous  and  well- 
directed  action  the  president  h;id  remo\  ed  all  who  were  likely  to 
offer  serious  t)pposition  to  the  course  he  had  .'idoptcd,  and  pre- 
vented much  ')f  the  bloodshed  that  nui>t  have  followed  had  tho.-e 
whom  he  arrested  been  at  large.  As  it  was,  rni  a.ttemjit  at  insurrec- 
tion was  made  in  many  parts  of  Paris  on  December  3,  t<'^51,  and 
the  day  following.  Barricades  were  ei"ected  and  many  fell  luider 
the  fire  of  the  troops,  but  the  ])riimptne<^  of  the  generals  in  com 
mand  brought  matters  to  a  close  on  the  5tli.  and  I'aris  was  spared 
much  of  the  destruction,  loss  of  life  and  horror  that  would  lia\e 
ensued  had  the  ■.i.-istance  to  the  coup  d'etat  been  general.  It  mav 
be  well  to  pause  here  a  moment  and  note  the  names  o\  the  men  w  ho 


442  FRANCE 

1851-1852 

were  mainly  instrumental  in  aiding  Louis  Napoleon  in  carrying  out 
his  bold  stroke  for  arbitrary  power  in  France.  Those  most  inti- 
mately associated  with  him  were  Persigny,  afterwards  Count 
Persigny,  who  had  been  concerned  in  all  his  previous  plots,  and 
for  long  years  the  most  devoted  of  his  adherents ;  ]\Iorny,  after- 
wards the  Duke  of  Morny,  a  clever  schemer  and  financier,  possessed 
of  many  great  personal  gifts,  and  General  Fleury,  one  of  his  aides- 
de-camp,  a  good  horseman  and  without  any  scruples  of  conscience 
in  carrying  out  anything  he  might  undertake.  Subordinate  to  these 
were  General,  afterwards  Marshal,  St.  Arnaud,  who  had  been  made 
minister  of  w^ar  on  October  27;  Maupas,  who  had  been  appointed 
prefect  of  police  at  the  same  time ;  General  Lowoestine,  commander 
of  the  national  guard ;  and  Generals  Magnan,  Forey,  Canrobert  and 
others,  many  of  whom  acquired  considerable  renown  under  the 
empire  in  subsequent  years. 

In  accordance  with  the  principle  of  universal  suffrage  enun- 
ciated in  one  of  the  decrees  of  December  2,  1851,  the  people  were 
asked  on  December  21  to  vote,  throughout  the  whole  of  France, 
for  or  against  the  following  plebiscite :  "  The  French  people  desire 
the  maintenance  of  the  authority  of  Louis  Napoleon  Bonaparte, 
and  delegate  to  him  the  powers  necessary  for  establishing  a  consti- 
tution upon  the  basis  proposed  in  his  proclamation  of  December  2.'' 
The  result  showed  that  7,439,216  persons  voted  in  the  affirmative, 
while  only  640,737  signified  their  dissent  from  the  plebiscite.  On 
New  Year's  Day,  1852,  the  president  was  formally  installed  in  office 
and  took  up  his  residence  in  the  Tuileries.  Soon  after  this 
Changarnier  and  most  of  those  who  had  been  imprisoned  in  the 
castle  of  Vincennes  were  conducted  across  the  Belgian  frontier  and 
set  at  liberty,  on  the  condition  that  they  would  not  seek  to  return 
to  France  without  permission.  Upwards  of  eighty  meniljers  of  the 
late  legislative  assembly  were  sent  into  exile,  and  about  six  hundred 
more  who  had  taken  up  arms  to  resist  the  coup  d'etat  were  trans- 
ported to  the  penal  settlement  of  Cayenne.  The  national  guard  was 
disbanded  and  immediately  reorganized,  and  on  January  14  a  new 
constitution  was  promulgated,  and  the  titles  of  the  French  nobility, 
which  had  been  abolished  at  the  revolution  of  1848,  were  restored. 
In  the  new  constitution  regulations  for  the  election  of  tlie  second 
chamber  were  duly  propounded.  One  deputy  was  to  be  returned  by 
every  35,000  electors  in  a  department,  witli  one  in  addition,  if  there 
should  happen  to  be  a  surplus  population  of  25,000  in  the  depart- 


THE     SECOND     REPUBLIC  US 

1852 

merit.  Tims,  for  example,  if  a  department  contained  105,000  elec- 
tors, it  was  to  return  three  members;  but  if  the  surplus  over  ihis 
number  brought  the  total  up  to  i30,ocx^  or  upwards,  it  was  entitled 
to  four  members.  Every  department  was  to  be  divided  into  as 
many  electoral  districts  as  it  was  entitled  t(^  deputies,  according  to 
the  number  of  electors  that  it  contained.  All  b^renchmen  above  the 
age  of  twenty,  being  in  full  possessicjn  ot  all  civil  and  political  rights, 
were  entitled  to  \ute. 

It  was  not  until  March  29  that  the  new  legislative  chambers  met 
in  the  Tuileries.  The  session  was  t)]KMied  in  CDUsiderable  state  l)y 
the  prince-i)resident,  who  sought  to  disabuse  the  minds  of  his  hear- 
ers of  the  thought  that,  perchance,  might  be  lurking  there,  that  it 
was  his  intention  to  seek  the  revival  of  the  emi)ire,  by  boldly  declar- 
ing that  he  had  no  intention  of  doing  S(t,  unless  the  conduct  of  sedi- 
tious factions  compelled  him  to  adopt  such  a  course.  "  Let  us."  he 
said.  "  maintain  the  republic;  it  menaces  nobody,  but  reassures  all." 
'I'he  birthday  oi  Xaptjleon  T.,  August  15,  was  ordered  to  be  kept  as  a 
fete-day  throughout  h' ranee,  and  the  good  understanding  that  .as- 
suredly existed  between  the  governor  and  gcjverned  in  the  country 
was  increased  by  an  act  of  amnesty  which  jjermitted  the  return  of 
Thiers,  Cliangarnier  and  other  political  exiles  of  December  2  to 
!•' ranee.  There  can  l)e  but  little  doubt  that  one  thought  had  been 
])redominant  in  Louis  Xa{:)oleon's  mind  since  he  had  grown  to  man- 
hood, and  that  that  thought  was  the  revival  (»f  the  empire.  Whether 
measures  were  taken  by  himself  and  his  sup])orters  to  set  the  tide 
of  public  opinion  in  the  direction  which  it  assuredly  took  soon  after 
his  instrdlation  as  president  for  ten  years  it  is  impossible  to  say. 
lio\\e\er  it  may  ha\e  been  excited,  the  wish  for  the  restoration  of 
the  empire  was  at  this  time  paramount  in  France.  It  was  openly 
mentioned  in  all  parts  oi  I'nance.  In  September  a  ])etition  was 
presented  to  the  senate  asking  for  the  "  reestablishment  of 
the  hereditary  i)ower  in  the  iJonajiarte  family,"  and  this  was  fol- 
lowed b\'  many  others  to  the  same  ehect.  At  Lyons,  whitlicr  the 
president  had  gone  to  l)e  ])resent  at  the  inauguration  of  an  ecpies- 
trian  statue  of  Xa[)(jleon  I.,  the  s[)ectators  broke  out  into  enthusiastic 
cries  of  "  I'ii'c  I'cnij'cri'iir."  At  Lordeaux,  in  a  tour  through  the 
southern  departments,  the  president,  in  allusion  to  the  evident  wish 
for  the  re\  i\al  of  the  empire,  took  occasion  to  say,  *'  The  empire  is 
peace,"  an  ax'owal,  in  fact,  of  his  intention  to  prijniute  industry, 
commerce  and  the  arts  of  peace  thri)ughout  b'rance  as  long  as  the 


444  F  R  A  N  C  E 

1852 

country  remained  under  his  rule.  It  was  during  this  tour  that  he 
performed  a  graceful  act  of  clemency  towards  a  fallen  foe  of  France 
by  permitting  Abd-el-Kader  to  retire  to  Asia  Minor,  on  condition 
that  he  would  never  again  take  up  arms  for  the  recovery  of  Algeria. 
At  last,  when  the  senate  met  in  November,  yielding  to  what  appeared 
to  be  the  wish  of  the  nation  at  large,  the  prince-president  ordered 
that  a  plebiscite  should  be  issued  respecting  the  revival  of  the  em- 
pire, for  or  against  which  the  people  might  record  their  votes  on 
November  21.  The  plebiscite  ran  thus:  "The  French  people 
wishes  the  resuscitation  of  the  imperial  dignity  in  the  person  of 
Louis  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  with  succession  in  his  direct  legitimate 
or  adopted  descendants."  The  number  of  votes  recorded  in  favor 
of  the  plebiscite  was  7,824,189 ;  only  253,143  were  registered  against 
it.  On  December  i,  1852,  the  senate  and  legislative  body  proceeded 
to  St.  Cloud  to  acquaint  the  president  with  the  result  of  the  voting, 
and  Louis  Napoleon  signified  his  acceptance  of  the  imperial  crown 
and  his  intention  to  assume  the  title  of  Napoleon  IIL  On  the  fol- 
lowing day,  the  anniversary  of  the  coup  d'etat,  the  empire  was  pro- 
claimed at  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  and  the  emperor  entered  Paris  amid 
the  acclamations  of  the  people.  Such  was  the  ending  of  the  second 
republic,  after  a  brief  existence  of  four  years  and  ten  months. 


Chapter    XXVII 

THE    EMPIRE    OF    NAPOLEON    IH.     1852-1870 

ONE  of  the  first  acts  of  Napoleon  HE,  after  the  reception 
of  tlie  imperial  crown,  was  the  i)r(niuil,c;'ati"n  of  a  decree 
confirming'  the  snccession  Id  Jerome  E)Miaparte,  ex-Kini^- 
of  Westphalia,  and  his  male  heirs,  if  he  himself  should  die  witlmui 
issue  in  direct  leg^itimacy,  and  having-  provided  for  tiiis  conting-ency 
he  hcg'an  t(^  seek  for  a  suitahle  consort.  Tt  is  said  that  he  was  at 
first  anxious  to  contract  an  alliance  with  the  Princess  Caroline  Vasa 
of  Sweden,  but  that  tlie  northern  powers  refused  to  give  their  con- 
sent to  the  match.  I'ailing  in  this  (piartcr,  he  ofi'ercd  his  hand  to  the 
Countess  Eugenie  Marie  of  ^lontijo,  the  daughter  of  the  Count  nf 
Montijo,  a  grandee  of  Spain,  a  )"oung  lady  of  twenty-six  years  .'ukI 
of  great  perst)nal  beauty.  The  marriage  took  place  in  the  cathedral 
of  Notre  Dame  on  January  30,  1853.  autl  was  immediately  fol- 
lowed by  an  amnesty  by  which  between  four  thcnisand  anrl  five 
thousand  persons,  who  were  undergoing  punishment  for  political 
offenses,  were  pardoned.  This  act  of  clemency  had  but  little  etTect 
on  the  republican  party,  or  the  extreme  section  of  it,  who  before 
the  year  had  exi)ired  concerted  a  ])lot  against  the  emperor's  life, 
l-'ortunately,  it  was  discovered  before  it  culd  be  carried  into  elYect, 
and  the  intended  assassins  were  variously  ])unislied  acccirding  to 
their  complicity  and  imiM)rtauce  by  transportation  for  life,  or  im- 
prisonment  for  a  greater  or  less  number  of  years. 

b'or  many  years  of  his  life  a  resident  in  luigland,  the  cmiieror, 
besides  ha\'ing  become  impressed  with  the  \alue  of  free  institmions 
and  real  personal  liberty,  was  imbiu'd  with  a  feeling  of  genuine 
liking'  and  real  friendship  towards  the  country  that  had  alTored  him 
an  asylum  in  the  time  (if  ad\ersity.  and  souglif  <'\ery  o])portuniiy 
of  cultivating  a  good  understanding,  iiot  only  jiclween  the  go\eni- 
ments  of  EYance  ami  I'Jigland,  but  also  between  t!ie  jieojjle  oi  tlie 
respective  countries.  Ab'Uit  this  time  the  luisiern  Ouestiou,  as  it 
was  called,  was  occupying  the  attention  of  l^uropc,  especially  ,1^  Rus- 
sia w^as  seeking  to  turn  it  to  such  account  as  would  enable  her  to 

445 


446  FRANCE 

1853-1854 

carry  out  the  designs  she  had  long  entertained  against  Turkey.  The 
Emperor  of  Russia,  as  head  of  the  Greek  church,  had  for  some  time 
been  endeavoring  to  persuade  the  Sultan  of  Turkey,  by  virtue  of 
former  treaties,  to  give  to  that  church  the  principal  authority  over 
the  holy  places  at  Jerusalem  at  which  many  of  the  chief  events  in 
our  Saviour's  life  were  said  to  have  taken  place.  The  Emperor  of 
France  as  "  eldest  son  of  the  church  "  supported  the  right  of  the 
Latin  or  Roman  Catholic  church  to  claim  and  exercise  an  equal  de- 
gree of  authority  over  these  spots,  and  the  dispute  was  still  in 
abeyance  when  the  Czar  suddenly  claimed  from  Turkey  the  protec- 
torate of  the  Greek  Christians  in  that  country  and  the  right  of 
settling  all  complaints  that  might  be  lodged  against  the  Greek 
patriarchs  and  bishops  in  Constantinople.  He  even  went  so  far  as 
to  suggest  to  England  that  it  was  time  to  divide  Turkey  between 
England  and  Russia,  an  overture  which  the  British  government 
promptly  declined,  asserting  plainly  at  the  same  time  its  intention 
of  upholding  the  integrity  of  Turkey  at  anv  cost.  At  this  juncture 
the  emperor  also  declared  his  intention  of  acting  in  concert  with 
England  in  behalf  of  Turkey,  and  a  combined  French  and  English 
fleet  was  sent  to  the  Dardenelles.  Reassured  by  the  friendly  atti- 
tude of  the  western  powers,  the  Sultan  no  longer  hesitated  to  refuse 
to  accede  to  the  demands  of  his  northern  neighbor,  and  on  July  2 
a  Russian  army  crossed  the  Pruth  and  occupied  the  principalities 
of  Moldavia  and  Wallachia.  On  October  4  the  Porte  made  a  for- 
mal declaration  of  war  against  Russia,  and  entered  into  the  struggle 
with  spirit  and  alacrity.  England  and  France  exhausted  every  en- 
deavor to  induce  the  Czar  to  forego  his  demands,  withdraw  his 
troops  and  resume  friendly  relations  with  Turkey,  but  finding  that 
their  efforts  to  preserve  peace  were  futile,  they  declared  war  against 
Russia  and  immediately  dispatched  troops  to  the  East.  After  a 
delay  of  five  months,  which  was  spent  in  accumulating  men  and 
materials  of  war  at  Varna,  the  allied  French  and  English  armies 
sailed  across  the  Black  Sea  and  landed  in  the  Crimea  on  September 
14.  The  disembarkation  of  the  troops  was  unopposed  by  the  Rus- 
sians, but  in  their  march  southward  on  Sebastopol  the  allies  found 
a  stnjug  Russian  force  under  Menschikov  posted  in  a  commanding 
position  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Alma  to  dispute  the  passage  of 
the  river.  The  English  troops  made  a  vigorous  attack  on  the  center 
and  the  right  of  the  Russian  position  and  carried  it,  while  the 
Russian  left,  resting  on  the  sea,  was  turned  by  General  Bosquet's 


N  A  r  ()  L  i:  ()  N     III  4i7 

1854-1855 

divisitjii,  consist inj;"  of  zouaves  and  other  ])ickc(l  I'rcnch  tronp-;.  who 
scaled  the  chlYs  abutting^  on  the  sea  and,  by  their  unexpected  aj)- 
pearance  on  the  Russian  llank,  completed  the  victury  lor  the  allies. 
Menschikov  iiutuedialely  fell  back  and  entered  Sebastopol.  whither 
Lord  Raglan,  the  English  commander-in-chief,  wished  to  fulli.w 
him  at  once  and  to  attempt  to  carry  the  city  by  a  duif^  dr  iiiiiin.  but 
INTarshal  Saint  Arnaud,  who  held  the  command-in-chief  ^^^i  the 
French  and  who  was  worn  out  with  illness — he  died  nine  (la_\>  after 
the  victory — wa';  indisposed  to  agree  ti»  l.^rd  Raglan's  proposal,  ruid 
the  troops  of  the  allies,  passing  tlie  citv  by  a  flank  march  to  the  left, 
took  up  a  position  on  the  ]:)lateau  to  the  S(^ut!i  o\  Sebastopol.  and 
having  secured  commum'cation  with  the  tleets  of  llalaklawa  Day, 
proceeded  to  commence  operations  for  the  imcsiment  of  the  city. 

The  Russians  ha\ing  gradually  recovered  froni  the  depression 
produced  by  their  defeat  on  the  Alma,  commenced  a  :^eries  of 
strenuous  efforts  to  dislodge  the  allies  f n  >m  their  j)osiii(>u-.  auil  to 
interrupt  them  in  their  preparations  for  the  siege,  which  was  com- 
menced on  October  17.  Sortie  after  sortie  was  made,  but  on  Octo- 
ber _'5  a  general  acliou  took  ])lace  in  the  x'alley  ci  lialaklawa,  by 
which  the  Russians  sought  to  cru->h  the  allies  between  the  city  and 
its  forts,  and  the  attacking  party  from  without,  -riiis  was  followed, 
on  X^ovember  5.  by  the  battle  of  Inkerman.  in  which  a  large  bo.ly 
of  luiglish  troo]-)s.  after  having  exhausted  their  amtnunition  against 
the  Russians,  who  retuiaied  repeatedly  to  the  attack,  were  succored 
bv  the  timely  arrival  r-f  the  b^-ench.  lioth  of  tliese  battle->  termi- 
nated in  the  repulse  of  the  Russians.  Xo  further  attack  i^\  an\-  im- 
portance was  made  by  the  be-^iegcil,  and  the  batteries  of  the  be- 
siegers seemed  to  make  but  little  impression  on  the  outworks  of 
the  citv  during  the  long  .and  dreary  wiiUer  that  en^ueil,  and  in 
which  the  allied  troi  *ps  endure<l  the  greatest  hardslii])s  ;uid  i)ri\a- 
tions.  Shortl}'  after  the  death  of  the  Czar  .Xiclnilas  of  Ru^->ia,  who 
was  succeeded  by  hi^  simi  .Mexander  11.,  Sardinia  joined  the  West- 
ern powers  against  Ru'-sia  in  i^^,:^,^.  and  in  the  s])ring  of  that  year 
sent  a  small  contingent  of  troops  to  the  scat  of  war.  On  jr.ne  (^ 
and  the  following  day  the  French  obtainerl  possession  of  the  \\'h!;e 
Works  and  Mamelon,  but  an  attack  on  the  M.alakoff  by  the  I'rench 
and  on  the  Redan  l)y  the  baiglish  on  June  iS  pro\-ed  a  failure.  .At 
this  time  General  I'elis^ier,  who  had  seen  much  service  in  .\lgeria, 
had  superseded  General  C'am'obert  in  the  command  of  the  I'rench, 
and    shortly    after    Cjcneral    Simp>on    as>umed     the    chief    com- 


448  FRANCE 

1855-1856 

mand  of  the  English,  Lord  Raglan  having  died  in  camp  on  June  25. 
On  August  16  an  attack  was  made  on  the  English  and  Sardinian 
camps  in  the  valley  of  the  Tchemaya,  which  was  repulsed,  and  on 
September  8,  after  a  terrific  bombardment  for  three  days,  the 
French  carried  the  Malakoff,  but  failed  in  their  assault  on  the  Little 
Redan,  as  did  the  English  in  an  attack  on  the  Redan.  In  the 
evening,  however,  the  Russian  troops  evacuated  the  city  and  with- 
drew to  the  north  side  of  the  harbor,  and  on  the  following  day  the 
allies  tCK:)k  possession  of  it.  Austria  now  interfered  to  bring  about 
peace,  and  in  February,  1856,  an  armistice  was  signed  and  hostili- 
ties suspended.  Peace  was  definitely  signed  on  ]\ larch  30,  1856, 
Russia  pledging  herself  to  regard  the  Black  Sea  for  the  future  as 
neutral  water,  closed  to  the  fleets  of  all  nations,  and  to  keep  up  no 
maritime  force  therein. 

Nothing  of  importance  had  occurred  at  home  during  the  year 
1855,  except  an  interchange  of  visits  between  Napoleon  IIL  and 
Queen  Victoria.  On  April  17  the  former,  accompanied  by  the  em- 
press, arrived  at  Windsor  on  a  visit  to  the  queen,  and  were  enter- 
tained by  the  lord  mayor  of  London  at  the  Guildhall  on  the  19th, 
while  on  August  18  the  queen  and  prince  consort  made  a  brief 
stay  in  Paris.  On  April  28  an  attempt  was  made  on  the  life  of  the 
emperor,  while  riding  in  the  Champs  Elysees,  by  an  Italian  named 
Pianori,  who  was  captured  on  the  spot,  tried  and  sentenced  to  death. 
On  May  15  the  Paris  Universal  Exhibition  of  Industry  was 
opened,  being  the  second  of  the  series  of  industrial  displays  which 
had  been  inaugurated  by  the  exhibition  in  London  in  1851.  An- 
other attempt  was  made  to  assassinate  the  emperor  on  November  8, 
but  the  assassin  was  arrested  by  a  police  agent,  who  struck  down 
his  arm  as  he  was  about  to  fire.  The  man  proved  to  be  a  dangerous 
lunatic.  The  year  1855  was  further  marked  by  the  readiness  with 
which  the  French  people  responded  to  the  call  of  the  government 
for  a  loan  of  500,000,000  francs.  So  great  was  the  confidence  and 
such  was  the  prosperity  of  all  classes  in  France  at  that  time  that 
nearly  twice  this  sum  was  offered  in  a  few  days,  although  a  loan  of 
250,000,000  francs  had  been  subscribed  for  at  the  commencement 
of  the  war.  A  few  months  after  a  third  loan,  of  500,000,000 
francs,  was  asked  for.  and  in  response  more  than  three  times  the 
sum  ref|uircd  was  offered,  principally  by  small  investors,  who 
sought  llms  to  turn  their  earnings  to  good  account.  The  year  1856, 
which   witnessed  the  restoration  of  peace,   is  noteworthy   for  the 


NAP()Li:()X     III  449 

1856-185S 

birth  of  Napoleon's  only  child,  the  Prince  Xap^leon  Euti^enc  Lmiis. 
born  on  March  iT),  an  event  which  was  liailcd  with  the  utmost  sat- 
isfaction liy  the  h^-cncli  nation  and  wliich  at  that  time  l)id  fair  to 
secure  the  rnainlcnance  nf  tlie  dynasty.  The  national  prosperity, 
however,  suffered  a  check  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  by  destruc- 
tive inundati(3ns  in  the  south  of  France,  which  caused  g'reat  loss 
of  life  and  property,  while  there  was  much  distress  in  the  money 
market,  and  numerous  important  commercial  failures.  The  work- 
inijf  classes,  in  spite  of  these  occurrences,  were  ])rosperous  and 
happy,  for  work  was  abundant,  owing  to  the  measures  adopted  by 
the  government  for  the  improvement  of  the  capital. 

Although  the  conduct  of  the  emperor  since  his  accession  to 
power  had  been  such  as  to  merit  the  alTection  and  esteem  of  all  his 
subjects,  tlie  revolutionary  faction  were  untiring  in  seeking  to  as- 
sassinate liim.  On  January  14,  1858,  as  the  emperor  and  empress 
were  pr(»ceeiling  along  the  Rue  Lepelleticr  on  their  way  to  the  opera, 
several  tletonating  sliclls  were  thrown  under  the  carriage  in  which 
they  were  seated.  These  exploded  without  injury  to  the  emperor, 
but  killed  or  wounded  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  persons, 
riddled  by  se\enty-six  projectiles.  The  chief  conspirators  were  an 
Italian,  named  Orsini.  Pieri,  another  Italian,  Rudio  and  Gomez. 
They  were  arrested  shortly  after,  and  Orsini  and  Pieri,  being 
sentenced  to  death,  were  guillotined  on  March  13.  This  and  other 
similar  pints  were  undoubtedly  hatched  in  England.  A  remon- 
strance was  addressed  to  tne  hhiglish  government,  urging  them  to 
make  their  laws  more  strict  against  jiolitical  refugees.  Lord  Pal- 
merston,  who  was  in  office  at  the  time,  brought  in  a  bill  for  this 
most  Tiecessary  and  desirable  puqiosc.  but  the  bill  was  re- 
jected by  the  Mouse  of  Commons,  and  L<  ird  Palmerston  resigned. 
This  tended,  in  a  measure,  to  impair  the  cordial  understanding  be- 
tween the  governments  of  i'rance  and  I'-ngland.  winch  in  the  ])re- 
vious  year  had  sent  a  combined  ileet  and  arniv  to  China,  to  punish 
the  Chinese  for  their  frecpient  attacks  upon  foreigners  and  to 
com])el  them  ti^  respect  the  treaties  into  which  lliey  had  entered 
frt)m  time  to  time.  Canton  was  btimbarded  ami  taken  on  December 
29,  and  the  allies  then  proceeded  northward  to  Peking.  Having  en- 
tered the  Peiho  and  taken  the  forts  at  the  entrance  to  that  ri\er,  the 
Chinese  became  alarmed  and  made  o\'ertures  for  ])eace,  which  was 
concluded  at  Tien-tsin  on  Jinic  J().  and  signed  by  Li>rd  Plgin  and 
Baron    Cros,    the    plciupotcntarics    of    England    and    i''rance.    re- 


450  FRANCE 

1856-1859 

spectively.  The  failure  of  Lord  Palmerston's  "  Conspiracy  to  IMur- 
der  "  bill,  as  it  was  called,  and  the  acquittal  of  Simon  Bernard,  a 
Frenchman  who  was  implicated  in  Orsini's  plot  against  the  em- 
peror's life,  and  who  was  brought  to  trial  for  the  offense  in  London, 
caused  a  great  deal  of  angry  feeling  in  France,  and  a  portion  of  the 
army  clamored  loudly  for  w'ar  with  England.  A  public  safety  bill 
and  some  restrictions  on  the  press  were  adopted  at  this  time  in  the 
French  legislative  chambers,  but  not  without  protest  on  the  part 
of  Emile  Ollivier,  who  was  already  coming  into  prominence  as 
one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  liberal  party.  At  this  time  France  was  di- 
vided into  five  great  military  commands,  for  the  better  security 
of  the  country  against  attacks  from  without  and  within.  The 
most  notable  event  of  the  year  was  the  opening  of  the  new  naval 
docks  at  Cherbourg,  in  the  presence  of  the  emperor  and  Queen 
Victoria.  This  port  had  been  rendered  a  secure  harbor  of  refuge 
by  the  completion  of  the  breakwater,  which  had  been  commenced 
in  the  year  1783,  while  the  strong  cordon  of  forts  with  which  it  was 
surrounded  towards  the  sea  rendered  it  impregnable  to  any  attack 
from  that  cjuarter. 

Since  1856  the  peace  of  Europe  had  remained  unbroken,  but 
public  confidence  in  its  maintenance  was  shaken  by  the  words  ad- 
dressed by  Napoleon  IIL  to  the  Austrian  ambassador  at  the  usual 
New  Year's  Day  reception  of  the  representatives  of  foreign  powers 
at  the  Tuileries,  January  i,  1859.  "  I  regret,"  said  the  emperor, 
"  that  our  relations  with  your  government  are  not  so  good  as  for- 
merly." Napoleon  had  formed  a  secret  alliance  with  Sardinia  for 
the  expulsion  of  Austria  from  Italy,  and  the  time  had  come  for 
action.  The  marriage,  on  January  30,  of  Prince  Napoleon,  the  son 
of  Jerome  Bonaparte,  wnth  Clotilde,  the  daughter  of  the  King  of 
Sardinia,  seemed  to  point  to  a  good  understanding  between  France 
and  Italy,  but  the  full  meaning  of  the  emperor's  remark  to  the 
Austrian  ambassador  was  not  revealed  until  the  following  month, 
and  Austria  called  on  Sardinia  to  disarm,  and  menaced  her  with 
war  in  case  she  refused  to  comply  with  the  demand.  On  this  the 
emperor  openly  declared  his  intention  of  assisting  Sardinia,  if  Aus- 
tria declared  war  against  her.  This  having  been  done  in  conse- 
quence of  the  steady  refusal  of  Sardinia  to  disarm,  a  French  army 
was  sent  across  the  Alps  and  entered  Italy  in  the  beginning  of  ]\Iay. 
The  Austrians,  who  had  entered  Piedmont,  were  compelled  to 
retreat.     I'hey  were  beaten  in  a  succession  of  battles  at  Monte- 


\  A  P  ()  L  E  ON      III  451 

1859-1860 

bello.  I\ileslro,  Mat^'enta.  and  Mclcc;"nano  by  the  Franco-Sardinian 
army,  and,  on  June  8,  1859,  the  Emperor  Napoleon  and  Kin^  Vic- 
tor hjimianucl  entered  Milan.  A  few  days  after  the  \ictiiry  of 
Solferino,  in  which  fortune  again  declared  for  tlic  allies.  Xapoleon 
made  peace  overtures  to  the  l-Jiiperor  of  Austria.  This  action  was 
due  to  the  threatening  attitude  of  Prnssia^  t(^  the  spread  of  the 
movement  iov  unity  in  central  Italy  and  to  the  opposition  to  the 
war  that  now  became  prononnccd  in  court  circles  in  Paris.  An 
armistice  was  concluded  and  the  terms  of  peace  arranged  at  \''il- 
lafranca  on  July  8.  althmigh  peace  was  not  definitely  signed  until 
November.  By  this  treaty  Lombardy  was  ceded  to  th.e  Emperor 
of  the  French,  who.  in  accordance  with  his  engagement  to  that 
effect,  handed  over  the  ceded  territ<iry  to  Victor  TMumanuel.  Tliis 
was  the  first  link  in  the  chain  (»f  events  which  culminated,  in  i^C)\, 
in  the  acc|iu'sition  of  the  entire  peninsula  of  Italy  bv  X'ictor  hju- 
manuel.  with  the  exception  of  the  tcrritnry  surrountling  Rome  and 
Vcnetia.  In  i860,  while  these  events  were  yet  in  pr(\gress,  a  treaty 
was  concluded  between  I'rance  and  Ttrdv  by  which  Sa\-(^y  and  Nice 
were  ceded  to  the  former  power  as  compensation  for  the  union  (^f 
the  states  of  centr.al  Ttalv  to  Sardinia. 

Meanwhile  I'rance  had  not  neglected  its  interests  in  Asia. 
After  the  conclusion  of  the  I'eace  of  Ticn-tsin  it  had  ])ccu  agreed 
that  ambassadors  from  France  and  ]uigland  should  f' >r  the  futiu'c 
take  up  their  residence  in  l*eking.  but  the  cn\'o\s  and  their  escort 
were  fired  on  while  passing  the  Peiho  forts.  Tliis  compclk'd  the 
iM'ench  and  English  governments  to  send  another  expeditii>n  to 
China,  under  the  orders  of  Lord  Elgin  atid  Parou  dros,  and  com- 
manded by  Sir  Hope  Grant  and  General  Montru:ban.  Tlie  Taku 
forts,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Peiho,  were  carried  bv  a^sauh  and  de- 
stroyed, and  the  allies  sacked  and  bui-ned  the  Ch.incse  emperoi-'s 
summer  ])alace.  near  I'eking.  and  inxestcd  the  capital.  ( )nce  m.  n-c 
the  Chinese  authorities  found  themsel\-c>^  compelled  to  sue  f'M-  jicare. 
and  a  treaty,  on  fa\-orable  terms  to  iiie  luu'opean  pcnvers,  was 
concluded  at  Peking  on  October  24,    1S60. 

At  home  the  year  was  marked  b\-  the  ci 'uclusi.  .n  of  a  co:u- 
mcrcial  treaty  between  b" ranee  and  l''.ngland.  a.rranged  b_\'  Cob- 
den,  the  eminent  ad\-ocatc  of  free-trade,  by  which  the  pr(^ducts 
and  manufactures  of  each  countrv  were  receixa'tl  in  tlie  other,  duiv 
free,  or  at  merely  ivMuina!  rates  of  duty.  The  eiupei-or  al-^o  t<_>ok 
occasion,  about  this  time,  to  neutralize  the  ill  effect  produced  by  a 


452  FRANCE 

1860-1862 

portion  of  the  French  press,  which  was  always  clamoring  against 
the  alhance  with  England,  by  writing  a  letter  to  Count  Persigny,  the 
French  ambassador  in  London,  in  which  he  disavowed  any  feeling 
whatever  of  hostility  towards  England  on  the  part  of  the  French 
government,  and,  as  if  to  give  evidence  of  this  by  some  tangible 
proof,  he  proposed  to  allow  Englishmen  to  enter  France  without 
passports  on  and  after  January  i.  1861.  This  period  of  Napoleon's 
reign  found  him  not  only  endeavoring  to  promote  a  feeling  of 
cordiality  and  good-will  between  England  and  France,  but  doing 
his  utmost  to  extend  political  and  religious  liberty  in  his  own  do- 
minions. Greater  freedom  of  speech  than  heretofore  was  permitted 
in  the  senate  and  legislative  assembly,  while  many  of  the  restrictions 
on  the  press  were  relaxed. 

Up  to  this  time  the  clergy,  almost  to  a  man.  had  supported  the 
emperor,  but  a  bitter  feeling  was  roused  in  them  against  him  when 
he  suffered  a  speech,  made  by  Prince  Napoleon,  against  the  tem- 
poral power  of  the  Pope,  to  pass  by  without  reproof.  It  also  tended 
to  alienate  the  more  rigid  Catholics  from  the  emperor,  while  so 
openly  shown  was  the  hostility  of  the  priests  to  the  throne  that  it 
was  found  necessary  to  forbid  them  to  meddle  with  politics,  and  to 
remind  them  that  there  were  duties  which  they  owed  to  Napoleon, 
as  their  temporal  sovereign,  as  well  as  to  the  Pope,  the  spiritual 
head  of  the  church.  This  was  followed  by  embarrassments  in  the 
finances,  which  caused  the  emperor  to  summon  the  eminent  finan- 
cier, Achille  Fould,  to  his  aid.  This  able  man  then  became 
minister  of  finance,  but  the  only  step  he  could  take  towards  relieving 
the  pressure  on  the  state  coffers  was  to  reduce  the  4^  per  cent, 
bonds  to  3  per  cent,  and  impose  new  taxes  and  stamp  duties.  He 
also  prevailed  on  the  emperor  to  abstain  from  contracting  any  loans 
in  future  without  the  sanction  of  the  legislative  body. 

In  1862  the  Mexican  expedition  was  attracting  considerable 
attention,  not  only  in  France  but  throughout  the  whole  of  Europe. 
The  misconduct  of  the  Mexican  government  towards  foreigners  of 
different  nationalities  residing  in  that  country  had  become  so  glar- 
ing that  England,  France  and  Spain  resolved  to  send  an  allied  fleet 
and  army  thither,  to  compel  the  Mexicans  to  make  suitable  repara- 
ti(jn  for  past  offenses  and  to  promise  to  abstain  from  similar  acts 
for  tlic  future.  The  Si)anish  troops,  wlio  were  the  first  to  arrive 
in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  landed  and  occupied  Vera  Cruz  in  Decem- 
ber, 1861,  and  early  in  1862  the  French  and  English  contingents 


N  A  r  C)  L  E  0  \     III  453 

1862-1863 

arrived.  Juarez,  president  of  Mexico,  entered  into  a  convention 
witli  tlie  allied  troops  at  Solcdad.  tlie  teiins  <>\  wliicli  wore  satis- 
factory to  tlie  Kn_^-Iisl)  and  .S])an;sh  c^oxenimcnls.  but  n  ■!  \n  the 
French,  wlio  determined  to  prosecute  the  war  in  the  hope  of  re- 
estabhshing-  a  stalilc  government  in  the  country.  Xajjolcon  II[..  in 
short,  proposed  to  establish  an  empire  in  Mexico  and  place  the 
Archduke  Maximilian,  brother  of  the  lunperor  of  Austria,  on  the 
throne.  The  French  troop-,  under  deneral  Forey.  remained  in 
Mexico,  though  the  iMiglish  and  Spanish  contingents  were  with- 
drawn. Consi(leral)le  reinforcements  were  sent  out  and  arrange- 
ments entered  intcj  with  the  Mexicans  who  were  liostilc  to  Juarez, 
ft)r  the  re\i\-al  of  the  Mexican  empire.  Tn  186:;  a  ])i'o\-isional  go\- 
eniment  was  formed  and  the  crown  was  formally  offered  to  Maxi- 
milian, wlio  did  not  arrive  in  the  country,  howexer.  until  }^Iav  29, 
1864.  Meanwhile  Forey  had  been  recalled  and  i'azaine  had  as- 
sumed the  command  of  the  French  troops.  In  Asia  the  hrencli 
arms  gained,  in  1862,  more  notable  successes  than  in  America.  A 
large  part  of  Cochin  China  was  concpiered  and  annexed  as  a  de- 
pendency of  the  I'^-ench  empire,  and  a  treaty  of  peace  and  commerce 
was  concluded  with  the  ruler  of  Anam. 

At  home  afl'airs  were  beginning  to  wear  a  gloomy  appearance. 
Considerable  distress  had  arisen  in  the  manufacturing  districts, 
as  the  civil  war  then  raging  in  America  between  the  northern 
and  southern  sections  of  the  United  States  had  sto])ped  the  su])- 
])h-  of  cotton,  on  which  the  prosperity  of  the  cotton  manufacture 
v/as  of  course  entirely  dependent.  This  was  followed  b_\-  discon- 
tent among  the  working  classes,  which  was  ])romptl}'  worked  on  by 
the  revolutionary  party,  by  whom  :ui  agitation  against  the  emperor 
was  immediatelv  set  on  foot,  ^riiis  agitation  wa-^  aidt'd.  indirectly, 
b}'  the  opposition  shown  bv  the  liberal  jiarty  in  the  legislative 
chamber,  to  the  svstem  of  ])ersonal  gox'ernnient  which  had  hitherto 
been  adopted,  and  carried  out  with  success,  by  the  emperor.  Just 
at  this  ]x;riod  the  legislative  bod\-  wa-^  dis'-ohed.  and  ("ount  Per- 
signy,  who  was  then  minister  for  home  altairs.  took  i'e])rehensii)le 
measures  to  iniluence  the  electors  in  their  c!ii>ice  ot  repi'esentati\a\s, 
thus  re\d\"ing  the  w(wst  feature  t'\  go\-ernnicin  intt'rference  with 
])olitical  freedom  uiuler  the  monarchy,  in  his  desire  In  obtain  a 
chamber  the  mai(^rity  of  wliose  members  sluuild  be  sul)ser\ient  to 
the  em[)eror's  \iews.  lie  failed,  howexer.  to  carry  the  elections. 
Thiers,  Jules  k'avre.  ()lli\  ier,  Jules  .Simon,  luaiest   Ticard  and  other 


454  FRANCE 

1863-1865 

well-known  opponents  of  the  government  were  returned  for  Paris, 
and  Persigny  and  other  members  of  the  cabinet,  finding  the  results 
generally  unfavorable  to  tliem,  resigned.  Billault  also,  the  min- 
ister through  whom  the  views  and  wishes  of  the  emperor  were  gen- 
erally expounded  to  the  legislative  chamber,  died  in  October,  1863, 
and  was  succeeded  as  minister  of  state  by  Rouher.  Towards  the 
close  of  1863  the  emperor  made  a  proposal  for  a  general  European 
congress  to  settle  any  dilTerences  that  might  exist  and  to  regulate 
matters  in  the  future,  but  although  most  of  the  states  of  Europe 
were,  without  doubt,  willing  and  even  desirous  to  accede  to  the 
proposal,  England  declined  participation  in  it  on  the  plea  that  dis- 
sensions might  arise  in  the  course  of  the  discussions  that  might 
place  the  general  relations  of  the  states  in  a  worse  position  than 
they  were  before;  and  so  the  matter  fell  to  the  ground. 

The  legislative  session  of  1865  was  opened  by  a  speech  from 
the  throne  which  promised  fairly  enough,  as  far  as  the  words  went 
in  which  it  was  couched,  and  the  assurances  which  it  contained.  The 
country  was  congratulated  on  the  probability  of  the  continued  main- 
tenance of  peace  and  a  revival  of  prosperity,  and  the  withdrawal  of 
the  French  troops  from  Rome,  which  had  been  maintained  there 
since  1849,  was  spoken  of  as  an  eventuality  which  would  probably 
happen.  A  repeal  of  the  French  navigation  laws  and  a  consequent 
extension  of  the  principles  of  free  trade  was  promised,  and  meas- 
ures for  the  extension  of  the  powers  of  local  management  in  depart- 
ments and  communes,  without  the  intervention  of  the  state.  The 
right  of  provisional  release  from  detention  before  trial,  with  or 
without  bail,  as  might  be  found  necessary,  even  in  criminal  cases, 
and  a  total  suppression-  of  personal  arrest  for  offenses  in  civil  or 
commercial  matters,  were  to  be  considered.  It  was  also  desired  to 
provide  for  compulsory  instruction  throughout  France,  but  a  bill  to 
this  effect  which  was  introduced  by  Darney,  the  minister  for 
instruction,  was  negatived  by  the  legislative  chamber.  The  realiza- 
tion of  these  proposals  would  have  been  an  advance  in  the  right  di- 
rection towards  the  attainment  of  a  fuller  system  of  personal  free- 
dom in  h^rance,  but  at  the  same  time  the  government  took  measures 
to  stillc  public  discussion  by  the  suppression  of  public  meetings.  In- 
deed, no  more  than  twenty  persons  were  allowed  to  meet  together 
for  this  purpose,  and  Garnier-Pages  and  several  of  his  friends 
who  had  come  together  at  his  private  residence  to  talk  over  some 
election  business  were  actually  punished  with  fines  for  violation  of 


\  A  P  ()  L  i:  ()  N     III  455 

1865-1866 

this  law.  nuiiiii:;-  tlie  session  llie  opposition,  anil  a  i^rcat  part  of 
the  French  incss,  were  unanimous  in  condcnininq;  the  .Mexican  oc- 
cupation as  a  .Qravc  error,  and  in  demand int::^  the  recall  of  the  I'^'ench 
troops.  'Jdie  emperor,  to  satisfy  the  wishes  of  the  nation,  ag^reeil  to 
the  withdrawal  of  the  army  of  occupation  in  the  followin.q-  year. 
This  was  done,  and  Maximilian,  who  liad  been  induced  to  accept  the 
crown  on  the  understanding:;-  that  the  emperor  would  accord  him 
the  support  of  tlie  I'rench  arms  as  lon.q-  as  mi,f^]it  be  necessary,  was 
abandoned  to  his  fate.  For  a  short  time  he  struo;,f^led  to  maintain 
his  crown  aq-ainst  the  attacks  of  the  followers  of  Juare;^,  l)ut  he  was 
betrayed  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies  at  Oucrataro  on  May  15, 
and  after  bein^-  tried  by  court-martial  was  shot  by  order  of  Juarez 
on  June  tq.  186^. 

It  is  necessary  now  to  direct  attention  to  the  brief  but  bloody 
war  that  occurred  in  ]'t<f)f)  between  T^russia  and  Austria.  These 
powers  had  combined  in  18^)4  to  crush  Denmark  and  depri\-e  her  of 
the  duchies  of  Sclileswit^-  and  Holstein,  o\-er  which  she  had  loni2^ 
held  jurisdiction.  Denmark  was  defeated  in  the  unccjual  contest, 
and  .\ustria  and  Prussia  were  unable  to  aijj'ree  abcMit  the  di\-ision  of 
the  territory.  An  appeal  to  arms  was  the  conse(|uence.  ]^aissia, 
tlioroui^'hly  ])i-epared  for  war,  at  once  took  the  field,  and,  after  a 
brief  contest,  now  known  as  the  ''  Seven  Weeks"  War."  opened  the 
ro.'ul  t(^  \'ienna  by  the  \ictory  of  Sadowa.  or  K(")niq;,iL,n-atz,  over  the 
Austrians.  At  this  ])oint  Xapolcon  ITl.  oft'ered  himself  as  a  medi- 
ator, but  as  it  was  notorious  that  he  was  unable  at  that  time  to  place 
a  lari^'e  army  in  the  held,  his  interference  was  of  little  value  to  Aus- 
tria and  of  no  ad\anta,L;e  to  I'rance.  In  kee])inq-  with  the  ay-rcement 
made  before  the  \\ai\  It;dy,  wiiich  had  combined  witli  I'russia  to 
attack  Austria,  was  i;'i\en  \'enice.  thoutih  the  Italian  troops  were 
defeated  in  more  tlian  one  en,i;'a^-enient  by  the  .Austrians.  bVoui 
this  time  the  animosity  that  had  been  cliei'islied  for  years  towards 
I'"i"ance  l)v  i'ru.ssia  dee])en(.'d  in  intensitv.  I'oth  counti^ies  fell  that 
war  must  e\entually  break  out  between  them,  and  tcuik  no  con- 
ciliatory measures  to  pre\-ent  it.  'ihe  ill -t'eeiini:;-  was  further  auic:;- 
mented  on  both  sides  b}-  the  rejeiiion  by  Count  Rismarck.  the  prime 
minister  of  Prussia,  of  a  re(|uest  made  by  the  French  ir^i-ox-ernment 
that  the  rectification  of  the  J'"rench  frontier  to  what  it  had  been  in 
1814  should  be  taken  into  consideration  by  Prussia.  This  applica- 
tion met  with  a  peix'mptory  and  uncourteous  refusal. 

iXmons'-  other  e\euts   for  wliich   the  \'ear    1866  is  noteworlhv 


456  FRANCE 

1866-1867 

is  the  withdrawal  of  the  French  troops  from  Rome.  The  evacua- 
tion was  commenced  in  the  winter  of  ICS65.  and  the  last  detachment 
left  the  eternal  city  on  December  13,  1866,  after  receiving  the 
blessing-  of  the  Pope,  who  took  no  pains  to  conceal  his  regret  at  their 
departure.  The  withdrawal  of  the  French  troops  revived  the  desire 
of  the  Italians  to  make  Rome  once  more  the  capital  of  united  Italy, 
but  the  Italian  government  took  no  steps  to  encourage  their  aspira- 
tion in  this  direction.  After  a  declaration,  made  by  Rouher  in  the 
legislative  assembly,  to  the  effect  that  Italy  should  never  seize  Rome 
to  the  prejudice  or  injury  of  the  Pope,  a  substitute  was  found  for 
the  army  of  occupation  in  a  new  Pontifical  army,  which  was  re- 
cruited from  the  most  enthusiastic  of  the  Catholics  in  France, 
Ireland,  and  other  countries. 

The  lead  which  had  been  taken  by  England  in  the  promotion 
of  the  comparison  of  industrial  progress  made  from  time  to  time 
by  all  nations  was  carefully  followed  by  France,  and  as  the  first 
exhibition  in  London  in  185 1  was  succeeded  by  a  similar  one  in 
Paris  in  1855,  so  the  second  international  exhibition,  held  in  the 
metropolis  of  the  British  empire  in  1862,  was  followed  b}^  a  great 
international  exhibition  in  France  in  1867.  The  building  in  which 
it  was  held  was  erected  in  the  Champ  de  Mars,  and  while  it  was 
open — the  inaugural  ceremony  was  held  on  April  i — it  was  visited 
by  the  Czar  of  Russia,  the  King  of  Prussia,  and  others  of  the 
crowned  heads  of  Europe.  While  this  great  display  of  the  world's 
art  and  manufacture  was  being  held  in  Paris,  a  conference  was 
opened  in  London  with  respect  to  Luxemburg,  whose  fortress, 
which  belonged  to  the  King  of  Holland  as  Grand  Duke  of  Luxem- 
burg and  was  considered  a  part  of  the  German  empire,  was  occu- 
pied by  Prussian  troops'.  France,  jealous  of  the  maintenance  of 
this  fortress  on  her  northeastern  frontier  by  Prussia,  called  on  that 
power  to  withdraw  its  troops,  and,  by  a  treaty  signed  in  London  on 
May  II,  1S67,  by  the  representatives  of  France,  England,  Austria, 
Prussia,  Russia,  Italy,  Holland  and  Belgium,  it  was  agreed  that  the 
deicnsive  works  of  Luxemburg  should  be  dismantled  and  the  ter- 
ritory henceforward  should  be  considered  neutral. 

PubHc  attention  had  for  some  time  been  directed  by  the  gov- 
ernment to  tlie  necessity  that  existed  for  the  reorganization  of  the 
French  army,  and  a  proposal  made  with  this  object  in  tlie  legislative 
asscni1)1y  in  1867  had  met  with  rejection.  The  uncertainy,  how- 
ever, of  any  k)ng  continuance  oi  peace  had  much  to  do  with  weak- 


X  A  P  ()  L  K  O  \     III  457 

1867-1868 

ening  the  opposition  that  had  previously  been  shown  to  tliis  meas- 
ure, and  in  ]^C)H  a  new  army  hill  was  passed  throucfh  the  senate 
and  legislative  assembly,  by  which  it  was  arranged  that  loo.ooo 
men  should  be  added  to  the  armv  annually,  the  period  of  ser\-ice 
being  fixed  at  twelve  years.  This  would  have  placed  a  standing 
army  of  1.200.000  men  constantly  at  the  disposal  of  th.e  govern- 
ment, and  the  jilan.  if  it  had  been  properly  carried  out,  wuild.  in 
time,  have  passed  a  great  part  of  tlie  pcpulatimi  of  France  through 
the  army  and  rendered  her  an  armed  nation,  like  Germany.  It  is 
asserted  that  the  mnnev  voted  anmiallv  f' »r  this  reconstruction  of 
the  army  was  not  used  for  the  j)urpose  for  which  it  was  intended, 
but  was  appropriated  by  the  authorities  at  the  war  office.  Whether 
this  be  a  true  statement  or  not  the  future  ahme  can  prove,  but  it  is 
a  grave  fact,  that  goes  far  to  substantiate  it,  that  when  the  safety 
of  France  de])ended  on  her  army  and  the  state  of  preparation  for 
war  in  which  her  armv  was  found,  its  numerical  strength,  when  in 
the  field,  was  far  tuider  what  it  had  appeared  to  be  on  jiaper.  and. 
while  the  men  had  lost  none  of  the  admirable  (|uah'tics  that  have 
always  distinguished  the  French  soldier,  the  ofiiccrs.  especiallv 
those  in  the  higher  grades,  witli  many  houorable  e\cc|)tiou'<,  of 
course,  were  found  to  be  ignorant  of  the  art  of  war.  inca])ablc  :tn  1 
utterly  unable  to  command  the  respect  and  confidence  ^^i  the  men 
who  had  to  follow  them.  In  addition  to  the  measures  taken  for  the 
addition  of  new  recruits  annually  to  the  army,  it  was  resolved  to 
form  a  new  national  guard,  or  f^ardc  viohiJc,  which  might  be 
sent  as  the  government  nnglit  direct,  from  one  part  ot  t!ie  country 
to  the  other,  while  the  (dd  national  gu.ard.  or  i^ni'Jr  jmlioiiaU' 
scdciilairr,  as  it  was  termed,  was  ('u\v  to  be  called  on  to  operate  in 
its  own  locality.  The  go\-ernment  further  tliouglit  lit  to  continue 
repressive  measures  ag.ainst  the  jiiTss  in  consiMiuence  of  the  un- 
bounded license  of  langua<.';e  which  was  indulged  in  by  sexeral  of 
tiiem  against  the  emj)eror  and  members  of  his  family.  Among 
the>e  the  most  scurrilous  ;ind  otTensixc  was  /.'/  Lantcruc.  a  jouru'd 
whose  satire  was  as  weak  as  its  language  w.'i<  disgusting,  which 
was  edited  bv  Henri  Rocliefort.  a  man  ^^{  gm  kI  birth,  who  ajied 
the  sans  culottism  of  the  infamous  Philip  I'.galite  and  other  men  of 
rank  who  made  themselves  notorious  as  the  abettors  of  the  great 
French  revolution  and  the  excesses  which  sprang  from  it.  P>ut  even 
while  instituting  proceedings  agaiii-~t  the  prc-<,  the  i;-o\crnmcnt 
certainly  showed  no  disposition  at  this  time  to  stitle  free  discus^idn. 


us  FRANCE 

1868-1869 

for  despite  the  law  which  forbade  more  than  twenty  persons  to  meet 
together  for  purposes  of  poHtical  discussion,  large  private  meetings 
were  held  in  different  parts  of  France  to  determine  the  line  of  con- 
duct to  be  pursued  at  the  approaching  general  election  in  1869.  As 
the  government  showed  no  disposition  to  interfere  with  them,  it 
was  considered  that  the  right  of  the  people  to  hold  political  meetings 
at  pleasure  was  fully  conceded. 

At  the  customary  reception  of  the  representatives  of  foreign 
powers  on  January  i,  1869,  the  emperor  again  took  occasion  to  de- 
clare that  everything  promised  the  continuance  of  peace  and  that 
the  internal  prosperity  of  the  country  was  increasing.  A  great  part 
of  the  press,  however,  declared  that  the  prosperity  of  France  could 
never  be  placed  on  a  secure  basis  until  the  emperor  abandoned  his 
system  of  personal  government,  and  a  bitter  outcry  was  raised 
against  Rouher,  whose  position  as  "  speaking  minister,''  i)V 
mouthpiece  of  the  emperor  in  the  legislative  assembly,  as  well  as 
his  alleged  subserviency  to  his  imperial  master  and  his  inability  to 
conceive  or  carry  out  anything  for  the  real  benefit  of  the  country, 
rendered  him  an  object  of  popular  dislike.  That  the  emperor  spoke 
more  truthfully  than  the  press  can  be  substantiated  by  the  fact  that 
the  financial  position  of  France  at  the  time  was  good.  Reduction 
of  taxation  had  been  promised,  the  floating  debt  had  been  lessened, 
and  it  was  estimated  that  the  revenue  for  the  financial  year  1869- 
1870  would  exceed  the  expenditure  by  about  100,000,000  francs. 
Still  a  feeling  against  the  emperor,  his  advisers,  and  his  policy  had 
sprung  up  and,  being  carefully  nurtured  by  the  opposition,  bore  its 
fruit  in  the  general  election  of  1869,  which  was  held  in  June,  the 
legislative  assembly  having  been  dissolved  on  April  26.  The  elec- 
tions in  Paris  were  attended  with  attempts  at  insurrection,  but  these 
werd  promptly  suppressed  by  the  government.  The  result,  in  the 
capital,  was  the  return  of  several  candidates  notoriously  hostile  to 
the  emperor,  among  whom  were  Thiers,  Jules  Favre  (the  republi- 
can barrister),  Garnier-Pages  and  Jules  Ferry,  while  among  the 
representatives  for  the  department  of  the  Seine  were  Gambetta, 
Jules  Simon,  Ernest  Picard,  Eugene  Pelletan,  and  other  extreme 
republicans.  The  suppression  of  La  Lantcrnc  in  France  and  appar- 
ent persecution  of  Rochefort  by  the  government  exercised  consider- 
able influence  on  the  elections.  The  journal,  whose  publication  was 
continued  in  Belgium,  whence  it  was  smuggled  into  iM-ance,  was 
eagerly  purchased  in  the  capital.     To  such  an  extent  did  Rochefort 


\AP()Li:()\      III  459 

1869-1870 

cany  the  scurrillily  of  his  laii.L;iia,L;e  that  in  June  ;lic  j^incmniciil 
coninicncctl  a  prnscciition  ai^ainst  liiiii.  amh  bcins"  .seiitcnce<l  ti>  i)av 
a  fine  f)f  ten  thousand  francs  or  to  be  imprisoned  for  three  years, 
with  loss  of  civil  rights  in  default,  he  made  his  escape  into  Belo'ium 
to  avoid  arrest.  When  tlie  new  legislative  chamber  assembled  at  the 
end  of  June,  it  was  found  that  the  t.ppnsition  had  nearly  trebled 
in  number,  and  the  emperor,  who  h.ad  L;iven  a  I'orecast  of  his  in- 
tentions in  the  Prcssc  before  the  elections  took  ])1ace.  now  an- 
nounced his  aliandonment  of  j^ersonal  go\-ernment  for  the  future 
and  the  introduction  of  ministerial  res|xtnsibility.  the  ministry  to 
be  selected  as  in  haigland.  in  accor(l:mce  with  the  views  of  the 
party  who  ])osscsscd  for  the  time  the  majority  in  tiie  chamber.  This 
was  followed  immediately  by  the  resignation  of  Rouher  and  his 
colleagues.  l\ouher  became  president  of  the  senate  and  Chas- 
seloui)d.aub:\t  tod^-  tlie  post  of  presi(,lent  of  the  new  cabinet, 
in  which  Marshal  Xiel  was  minister  for  war.  b^iu'cade  de  la 
T\0{|nette  for  the  imerior,  and  T.a  dour  d'Auxorgne  for  foreign 
affairs.  Tn  August.  lio\\e\er.  Marshal  Xiel  died,  and  his  place  was 
filled  bv  Ct-neral  Lebreuf.  It  was  not  Imig.  however,  that  tln"s  min- 
i-'try  remained  in  office,  for  they  resigned  on  l)eceml)er  27  in  conse- 
(|iu'nce  of  the  opposition  shown  by  the  cliamber  to  ;dl  the  measures 
which  they  ])ro|)osed,  and  the  evident  leaning  of  the  majority 
towards  the  programme  of  I'juile  ()lli\ier  and  his  j)artisan<. 
v^hit-Ji  cnm])ri'^ed  a  thorrnigh  rex'i^ion  of  the  bdectoral  T.aw.  tlie  rd)oli- 
tion  of  fiflicial  candidatures  and  a  coniplete  municii)al  reform.  A 
re\-ision  of  the  army  bill  uas  also  a  pronu'uent  feature,  as  well  as 
restoration  of  ti'ial  by  jury  and  the  relaxation  of  the  press  laws.  In 
Xovember  a  fresh  election  having  become  necessary  for  Paris. 
T\ochefort  had  reentered  h" ranee  to  offer  himself  as  a  candidate. 
He  w;is  arrested  soon  after  crossing  the  frontier,  but  the  emperor 
ordered  him  to  be  ])ro\ide(l  with  a  safe  conduct  during  the  election, 
which  terminated  in  his  retuiii  to  the  legislati\e  cliamber. 

The  reception  of  the  foreign  ;im1).issadors  on  Xew  ^'ear"s  Day 
was  promptly  followed  by  the  announcement  of  the  new  liberal 
nu'nisters.  The  new  cabini't  was  formed  of  (^llivier,  minister  for 
justice.  Count  Uaru.  for  foreign  affairs,  ("hexalier  de  \'aldomie. 
for  the  interior.  Marshal  Leljceuf,  for  war.  and  Admiral  Rigaull  de 
Genouilly.  for  na\al  affairs.  Among  other  changes  l^aron  1  lauss- 
mann.  who  luul  ac(|uired  deserved  celebrity  for  the  improvements 
he  had  effected  in   T.iris.  was  replaced  as  [jrefect  of  the  Seine  by 


460  FRANCE 


1870 


Chevreau,  who  had  hitherto  been  prefect  of  the  Rhone.  Hardly 
had  the  new  ministry  assumed  office  wlien  an  event  happened  which 
was  eagerly  taken  advantage  of  to  ronse  the  passions  of  the  mob 
against  the  emperor  and  his  family.  The  notorious  Rochefort  had 
repaid  the  clemency  lately  shown  him  by  the  emperor  by  the  publi- 
cation of  an  extreme  republican  organ,  called  the  Marseillaise,  in 
which  he  indulged  in  the  same  scurrilous  animadversions  against 
the  emperor  and  his  family  that  had  distinguished  La  Lanterne. 
Prince  Pierre  Bonaparte,  one  of  the  emperor's  cousins,  a  man  of 
indifferent  character  and  violent  passions,  had  retorted  on  the 
writer  of  one  of  these  articles,  a  man  called  Grousset,  in  a  Corsican 
paper,  and  Grousset  sent  two  of  the  staff  of  the  Marseillaise,  a 
journalist  called  Salmon,  who  wrote  under  the  assumed  name  of 
Victor  Noir,  and  another,  Ulric  of  Fonvielle,  to  the  prince  with  a 
challenge.  The  prince  refused  to  fight  any  one  but  Rochefort, 
whereupon  Victor  Noir,  as  the  prince  asserted,  struck  him  in  the 
face,  while  Fonvielle  drew  a  revolver.  On  this  Prince  Pierre 
Bonaparte  also  took  a  revolver  from  his  pocket,  and  fired  two  or 
three  shots,  one  of  which  mortally  wounded  Victor  Noir,  who  died 
a  few  minutes  afterwards.  The  prince  immediately  surrendered 
himself  to  the  police,  and  was  tried  in  March  at  a  high  court  of 
justice  held  at  Tours.  He  was  acquitted  of  any  intent  to  murder, 
but  was  ordered  to  pay  twenty-five  thousand  francs  as  compensation 
to  the  family  of  the  man  whom  he  had  shot.  The  funeral  of  Victor 
Noir  attracted  a  considerable  number  of  persons,  but  nothing  seri- 
ous took  place.  Rochefort  was  prosecuted  for  an  article  which  ap- 
peared in  the  Marseillaise  immediately  after  Noir's  death,  and 
sentenced  to  pay  a  fine  of  three  thousand  francs  and  be  imprisoned 
for  six  montlis.  The  enforcement  of  his  sentence  and  his  arrest 
caused  an  outbreak  in  Belleville  and  some  of  the  suburbs  of  Paris, 
but  it  was  promptly  suppressed  by  the  authorities.  Among  other 
occurrences  which  occupied  public  attention  at  this  time  was  the 
strike  of  the  engineers  and  workmen  at  the  great  works  of 
Schneider,  the  president  of  the  legislative  chamber,  at  Creuzot. 
This  was  fomented  mainly  by  a  certain  Assi,  the  agent  of  the  Inter- 
national Society. 

Much  surprise  was  occasioned  towards  the  end  of  March  by  a 
letter  written  by  the  emperor  to  Ollivier  advising  certain  modifica- 
tions of  the  constitution,  which  were  to  apply  more  especially  to  the 
senate,  and  had  the  effect,  in  one  respect,  of  assimilating  the  func- 


X  A  T'O  1,  1:0  \      I  I  T  4()1 

1870 

tions  of  the  Icf^^islativc  chamber  (o  ihrisc  *•[  tlic  Rriti-h  Tlnusc  <,i 
Commons  in  determining"  that  supphcs  should  he  voted  and  impcri.d 
taxation  chrectcd  In-  that  body  only.  Tlic  senate  was  still  permitted 
to  initiate  bills,  but  only  twenty  senators  per  annum  might  be  arlded 
to  their  ranks  besides  those  who  sat  there  l)y  right.  Any  modifica- 
tion of  the  constitution  was  to  lie  made  by  the  sovereign  alone,  who 
would  submit  the  proix)sed  change  to  the  natimi  at  larg"e  through  a 
plebiscite.  The  proposed  step  was  adopted  by  the  senate  and  prep- 
arations were  made  for  submitting  it  to  the  national  vote.  In  the 
legislative  chamber  it  uas  strenuously  ojiposed  (tn  the  plea  that  the 
whole  arrangement  looked  very  much  like  a  return  to  the  principle 
of  personal  government,  and  Count  Darn  and  others  of  the  cabinet 
resigned.  The  emperor,  however,  issued  a  proclamation  calling  on 
the  people  to  ratify  the  change  and  by  their  vote  to  place  order  and 
liberty  on  a  firm  l)asis  and  render  the  transmission  of  the  crown 
from  himself  to  his  son  in  time  to  come  easier  than  it  might  be  un- 
der tlie  constitution  as  it  then  stood.  The  nation  responded  to  his 
appeal,  the  number  of  votes  in  the  afilrmative  being  7.5^7.370. 
while  those  in  the  negative  numbered  1.530.009.  A  good  deal  of 
rioting  occurred  on  the  day  <^f  \oting  and  on  the  two  following  days, 
but  tlie  barricades  that  were  thrown  up  were  soon  taken  and  de- 
stroyed and  the  ringleaders  were  arrested.  The  Ollix'ier  ministry 
was  reconstructed,  the  principal  a])pointment  being  that  of  the  Duke 
of  Grammont  for  foreign  affairs.  The  j^lotlers  again>t  the  em- 
peror's life  were  as  active  as  e\'cr.  Que  was  detected  in  Aj)rii 
ruid  the  conspirators  arrested,  while  another  was  disco\ered  by  the 
j)()lice  in  July,  just  about  tlie  time  that  the  Orle.ms  princes  de- 
manded fi-oin  the  senate  ])ermission  to  return  to  h' ranee,  which  was 
refused  by  173  votes  to  3r. 

That  we  cannot  tell  what  a  day  or  an  hour  ni;iy  bring  fortii  is 
as  true  in  ])olitics  as  in  ordinary  exent'^  ot'  ]it"e.  and  after  tlie  solemn 
ratification  of  the  emperor's  acts  by  the  b'rench  nation  thr(nigii  the 
])lebiscitc  of  Mav  S.  it  seemed  unlikely  that  anything  would  occur 
immediatelv  to  iin])air  tlie  stability  of  tlie  dynasty  and  cut  sIi^M-t  the 
reign  of  Xapoleon  111.  In  iShS  a  re\olution  had  diM\en  Isabella 
n.  from  the  throne  of  Spain,  and  from  that  time  the  government 
had  been  carried  on  first  by  a  hn\y  ])ro\-isionally  chosen  from  among 
its  leaders  rmd  instigators  and  then  by  Marsh.al  Serrano  as  regein. 
Great  efforts  had  been  maile  to  procure  a  candidate  for  the  vacant 
crown,  and  at  la,-t  it  was  accepted,  with  the  api)ro\rd  of  the  King 


462  FRANCE 

1870 

of  Prussia  by  Prince  Leopold  Hohenzollcrn-Sig'maringen.  The 
French  government  were  by  no  means  desirous  of  seeing  a  cadet  of 
the  royal  family  of  Prussia  on  the  throne,  as  they  considered 
naturally  enough  that  if  Prussia  made  war  on  France,  Spain  under 
her  influence  would  make  common  cause  with  her  and  attack  France 
on  the  south.  The  Duke  of  Grammont  requested  Benedetti,  the 
French  ambassador  at  Berlin,  to  signify  to  the  King  of  Prussia  that 
the  candidature  of  Prince  Leopold  for  the  Spanish  crown  was  most 
distasteful  to  his  government,  and  to  request  him  to  order  his 
relative  to  withdraw  from  it.  Before  the  king  had  replied,  Prince 
Anton,  acting  for  his  son,  announced  that  he  would  not  accept  the 
Spanish  crown,  and  Benedetti  was  then  directed  to  ask  the  King  of 
Prussia  to  guarantee  that  the  prince  should  not  accept  the  Spanish 
crown  if  perchance  it  should  again  be  offered  to  him.  This  the  king- 
refused  to  do,  saying  that  he  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  matter, 
although  he  approved  of  the  renunciation  of  Prince  Leopold. 
Benedetti  attempted  to  press  the  matter,  but  the  king  politely 
declined  to  consider  it  farther.  There  was  no  open  rupture,  the 
French  ambassador  being  present  at  the  railroad  station  the  next 
day  to  pay  his  respects  to  the  departing  king.  The  incident  might 
have  ended  then  had  it  not  been  for  Bismarck.  He  received  a  dis- 
patch describing  the  meeting  at  Ems,  and  realized  that  it  contained 
no  casus  belli.  Prussia  was  ready  for  war  and  France  was  not ;  war 
was  inevitable  between  the  two  states,  and  Bismarck  decided  to 
fight  when  he  could  do  so  to  the  best  advantage.  He  so  modified  the 
dispatch  by  excisions  that  it  left  the  impression  that  the  French 
ambassador  had  been  insulted  by  the  King  of  Prussia.  Thus 
modified  the  dispatch  was  published  and  produced  its  effect.  The 
asserted  insult  to  France  in  the  person  of  her  ambassador  was 
dwelt  on  in  both  chambers,  and  war  was  resolved  on  amid  the 
cheers  of  the  senate,  the  acclamations  of  all  save  a  few  members  of 
the  left  in  the  legislative  chamber,  and  the  frantic  cries  of  the  Pa- 
risians, who,  in  ignorance  of  the  weakness  of  the  army,  thought 
that  a  few  weeks  would  see  their  troops  at  Berlin.  That  war  was  as 
welcome  to  the  German  authorities  as  it  was  to  France  there  can  be 
no  doubt.  The  Emperor  Napoleon,  incapacitated  by  illness  from 
inquiring  as  sedulously  into  the  condition  of  the  army  as  he  had  in 
the  early  part  of  his  reign,  and  trusting  to  the  false  reports  of  Mar- 
shal Lelxi'uf  and  others,  who  had  reported  the  organization  of  tlie 
troops  and  material  of  war  to  be  perfect,  and  every  regiment  at  its 


N  A  V  ()  L  i:  ox     III  46:i 

1870 

full  strcng-lli,  though  more  inclinc'l  fnr  ))cace  as  far  as  he  was  per- 
sonally conccincil.  thought  thai  a  successful  contest  with  Prussia 
anJ  the  reclilicalion  of  the  Kh.ine  fr<  niier  luigiit  add  to  the  stability 
of  his  dynasty;  while  Bismarck  saw  in  it  tiie  oi)portunily  of  render- 
ing Prussian  intlucnce  paramount  in  Germany  by  the  consolidation 
of  the  mini  ir  German  states  into  an  empire  the  crown  o\  which 
should  be  hereditary  in  the  Prussian  royal  fann'ly.  Tlic  Prussian 
system  of  military  training",  which  oijliged  e\ery  man  to  serve  in 
the  army  during  a  certain  period  of  his  life  and  afterwards  to  be 
liable  for  service  in  the  reserve,  enabled  P)ismarck  to  take  the  field 
with  oxerwlielming  forces  ami  to  assemble  vast  masses  (^f  troops  on 
the  French  frontier  before  the  declaration  of  war  was  a  fortnight 
old.  In  the  meantime,  too,  he  had  secured  the  co(')])eration  of  the 
minor  German  states,  wdio  furnished  a  considerable  contingent  to 
the  allied  armies. 

The  iMiii^eror  Xapoleon  Til.  took  the  field  at  ]\Ietz  on  July  jS, 
at  the  head  of  an  army  of  about  268,000  men.  divided  into  seven 
army  corps  under  ^larshals  MacMahon,  Pa/.ainc  and  C"anr(.bert  and 
Generals  b'rossard,  Ladmirault  and  De  P'ailly.  'fhe  Germans  num- 
bered about  600.000  men,  of  wlunn  about  i()o.ooo  were  disposcil 
about  the  Pdbc  and  in  Ilanover,  to  resist  inwasi.Mi  in  tliat  (|uar:er. 
wliile  of  the  remainder,  135,000,  under  Prince  Prcderick  Charle,>, 
formed  the  right  wing.  85.000,  under  \^)n  Ste-nmet/,  the  cenlei', 
and  200.000,  under  the  Crown  Prince  of  Prussia,  the  left  wiug. 
The  King  of  Prussia  took  the  command  of  his  army  in  ])ersnu,  the 
famous  Prussian  strategist  \'on  Moltke  being  sec^ud  in  command. 
The  b^'cnch  were  overmatched  in  numbers  as  well  as  in  intelligence. 
t!ie  Germans  being  superior  in  tiie  "absolute  unity  of  their  com- 
mand and  concert  of  ojjeratiou,  in  tlieir  superior  mechani'-m  in 
e([ui])ment  and  supplies,  the  su[)erior  intelligence,  steadiness  and 
discii)line  of  the  so.ldiers,  the  superior  education  oi  tlie  otVicei's  and 
the  dash  an<l  intelligence  of  the  caxalry,"  as  was  fully  evincc'l  by 
the  e\'ents  which  subse(|uently  happened. 

The  fu'st  operation  was  an  attack  of  a  French  armv  corps  on 
about  ffteen  htindred  Prus>ians  at  Saarbriicken,  at  which  tiie 
emperor  and  prince  imperial  were  present,  August  2,  1870.  and 
wdien  tlie  Pru-^sians  were  di>lodged  from  the  town  and  compel]e<l 
to  retire.  'f\\o  days  alter  the  ("rown  Prince  of  Pru<-ia  cro^seil 
the  l.auter.  cnttTcd  Prant'e  and  lorced  back  the  --econd  arm\'  Corp> 
under    P'rossard    with    fearful    loss,    after    storming-    the    line^    of 


464-  FRANCE 

1870 

Weissenbiirg'  and  Geisbcrg.  The  battle  of  Woerth  followed  on 
the  6th,  in  which  the  crown  prince  defeated  the  army  of  the 
Rhine  under  ^lacMahon  and  compelled  him  to  retire  on  Nancy, 
while  on  the  same  day  the  Prussian  center  reoccupied  Saar- 
briicken,  and  took  the  French  town  of  Forbach.  Nothing  was 
left  to  the  h^rench  then  but  to  fall  back  along  the  whole  line. 
Marshal  Bazaine  assumed  command  of  the  French  at  Metz,  while 
]\IacMahon  and  Canrobert  endeavored  to  rally  and  reconstruct  their 
broken  battalions  while  retreating  on  the  Moselle.  The  news  of 
these  disasters  in  Paris  enforced  the  resignation  of  the  Ollivier  min- 
istry, while  a  new  cabinet  was  form.ed  under  General  Montauban, 
Count  of  Palikao.  The  Germans  left  the  French  little  or  no  time 
to  recover  from  the  shock  of  the  first  disasters.  They  occupied 
Nancy,  laid  siege  to  Strassburg,  and  while  considerable  numbers 
pressed  on  in  pursuit  of  jMacMahon,  the  main  mass  was  directed 
against  Bazaine  and  the  troops  before  Metz.  Here  three  famous 
battles  were  fought.  Von  Steinmetz  gaining  the  battle  of  Courcelles 
on  August  14,  Prince  Frederick  Charles  that  of  Vionville  on  August 
16,  and  the  combined  forces  of  these  generals  under  the  king  in 
person  winning  that  of  Gravelotte  on  the  i8th.  These  defeats  in 
successioh  prevented  Bazaine  from  continuing  his  retreat  to  the 
westward  and  forced  him  to  shut  himself  up  in  the  district  round 
Metz.  The  emperor  had  managed  to  leave  Bazaine  on  the  14th  and 
join  MacMahon  at  Chalons  two  days  after.  MacMahon  then 
started  northwards  with  his  army  in  an  endeavor  to  effect  a  junc- 
tion with  Bazaine,  but  in  consequence  of  the  slowness  of  his  move- 
ment he  was  unable  to  effect  his  object.  Bazaine,  closely  watched 
by  Prince  Frederick  Charles,  made  a  sortie  from  Metz  in  the  hope 
of  breaking  through  the  Prussian  lines  and  marching  to  effect  a 
junction  with  MacMahon,  but  his  efforts  to  escape  were  ineffective. 
In  the  meantime  the  Crown  Prince  of  Prussia  had  occupied  Chalons 
and  was  pressing  forward  in  pursuit  of  MacMahon,  v;hom  he  over- 
took and  defeated  near  Beaumont,  between  jMouzon  and  Moulins, 
on  August  30,  partial  engagements  having  taken  place  at  Bugancy 
on  the  27th  and  Stenay  on  the  29th,  in  which  the  French  were  de- 
feated. On  the  31st,  while  Bazaine  was  endeavoring  to  break  out 
from  Metz  to  join  MacMahon  a  second  time,  the  Germans  entered 
Carignan,  and  after  defeating  the  French  on  the  plains  of  Douzy, 
compelled  MacMahon  to  fall  back  on  Sedan.  The  encounter  was 
renewed  before  Sedan    on  September  i.     MacMalion  had  his  thigli 


1870 


NAPOI.KOX     III 


46") 


broken  in  llic  aciiiMi.  and  after  a  oalJanl  struggle  for  many  liour-> 
against  sn])cri(u-  nuniluMs  the  l'"rcncli  i)ccanie  citmj)lelelv  demoral- 
ized by  tbeir  repeated  defeats,  and  the  emperor,  wlio  bad  in  vain 
souglit  deatb  at  ibe  bead  of  bis  troops  during  tlie  battle,  to  save  tbe 
remnants  of  tbe  b^rencb  armies  wbieb  were  buddled  togetber  in 
eonfused  masses  in  .'uid  .about  Sedan.  resoK-ed  to  give  up  bis  sword 
to  tbe  King  of  I'russia.  d'erms  of  capitulation  were  accorcHngly 
arranged  by  General  W'impffen.  on  wboui  tbe  command  of  tbe 
b^rencb  bad  now^  devolved,  and  tbe  emperor,  after  a  brief  interview 
witb  tbe  King  of  I'russia  at  tbe  Cbateau  of  IJellevue,  was  sent  bv 


A 


WAR  FOR  THE  RHINE  FRONTIER 

TRANCO  -  PRUSSIAN   WAR, 1870  . 


tbe  latter  to  Wilbelmsbobe.  near  Cassel.  wbere  be  was  to  remain  a 
prisi.'uer  of  war  till  tlie  conclusion  of  tbe  contest. 

Alarmed,  and  jn>lly  so.  by  tbe  rapid  advance  of  tbe  Germans 
after  W'oertb  and  tbe  continued  reverses  of  tbe  armies  in  tbe  field, 
energetic  measures  were  taken  for  tbe  defense  .and  \ictnaling  of 
Paris  [)}■  (iener.al  d'rocbn  ;is  early  as  August  iS,  tbe  general  baxing 
been  a])poinled  go\crnor  ot  tbe  citv  on  tbe  jireceding  dav.  On 
September  3  uni\ersal  constern.ation.  wbicb  subsequcntlv  decpeneil 
into  a  feeling  of  excitement  ag.ainst  tbe  emperor,  w.as  paramount  in 
Paris  on  tlie  recci^tion  of  tbe  news  (^f  tbe  dei'eat  of  MacMabon.  tlie 
caj)itulation  of  S.'lan  and  tbe  surrender  of  tbe  emperor  .as  a  prisoner 
of   war.      ddiese   tbsasters.    bowcNcr.    were    not    formallv    acknowl- 


466  FRANCE 

1870 

edged  by  the  government  until  the  following  day,  when  they  were 
announced  to  the  legislative  assembly  by  the  Count  of  Palikao.  The 
republican  party  were  not  slow  to  seek  to  profit  by  the  emperor's 
misfortune,  and  Jules  Favre,  while  proposing  to  continue  the  strug- 
gle to  the  utmost,  took  occasion  to  make  an  attack  on  the  dynasty, 
and  proposed  the  concentration  of  power  in  the  hands  of  General 
Trochu.  At  the  suggestion  of  Thiers  the  chamber  proceeded 
to  appcjint  a  commission  of  government  and  national  defense,  and 
ordered  the  convocation  of  a  constituent  assembly.  But  the  Pa- 
risians, stung  by  the  defeats  and  disgraces  that  had  marked  the 
short  campaign,  were  already  shouting  for  the  dethronement  of  the 
emperor  and  a  renewal  of  the  republic,  and  a  considerable  crowd 
burst  into  the  hall  in  which  the  deputies  were  deliberating,  insisting 
on  the  acceptance  of  their  demands.  Ivlost  of  the  deputies  retired, 
but  Jules  Favre,  Gambetta  and  other  members  of  the  extreme  left 
proclaimed  the  deposition  of  the  imperial  dynasty  and  the  establish- 
ment of  the  repuljlic.  The  government,  apparently  paralyzed  and 
helpless,  took  no  steps  to  retrieve  the  position.  General  Trochu 
accej^ted  the  offer  made  to  him  by  Jules  Favre  and  his  colleagues 
to  assume  the  presidency  of  the  provisional  government  of  defense. 
As  the  evening  drew  on,  Ollivier,  the  Count  of  Palikao  and  other 
members  of  their  respective  cabinets  quitted  Paris  in  haste,  and 
the  empress,  deserted  by  all,  fled  from  the  city  in  disguise  and  made 
her  way  to  England,  where  she  was  joined  by  the  prince  imperial, 
who  before  the  slaughter  and  surrender  of  Sedan  had  been  sent  in 
haste  by  his  father  across  the  frontier  into  Belgium.  So  ended  the 
second  empire,  on  September  4,  1870,  just  seventeen  years  and  nine 
months  after  its  establishment. 


Chapter    XXVITT 

THE    THIRD    RKI'UIMTC.    1870-1910 

THE  third  republic,  like  Ihc  firsL  am!  second,  was  the  off- 
spring of  war  and  revolution.  The  eni[)irc  had  fallen  at 
Sedan ;  the  provisional  government  was  the  work  of  a 
handful  of  deputies,  the  representatives  of  the  department  of  the 
Seine,  who  assumed  to  act  for  the  countrv  at  large  and  pmclainied 
the -republic.  Although  the  title  adopted  for  the  government — 
"Government  of  National  Defense" — indicated  that  it  was  but 
a  makeshift,  until  it  had  received  the  sanction  of  lM"ance  it  was 
clearly  revolutionary  and  it  was  not  at  all  certain  what  might  be 
the  attitude  of  foreign  governments  towards  so  irresponsible  a 
body.  Jules  Fa\re,  who  acted  as  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  in  a 
circular  letter  of  September  6,  1870.  tiirew  the  resj^onsibilit}'  of  the 
war  on  the  emperor  and  declared  that  h'rance  would  not  surrendcr 
"  an  inch  of  its  soil  n(~)r  a  stone  of  its  fortresses."  As  l^'avre  assumed 
that  Germany  did  nr)t  make  war  upon  JTance,  but  upon  the  emperor, 
he  anticipated  overtures  of  peace,  now  that  the  empire  had  fallen, 
lie  was,  however,  thoroughly  undeccix'ed  by  the  circular  letter  of 
Bismarck,  dated  at  Rheims,  Septeml)er  13,  proclaiming  the  ])urpose 
of  Germany  to  protect  its  southern  border  by  retaining  the  French 
fortresses  that  had  hitherto  been  a  menace  to  it.  This  was  Bis- 
marck's answer  to  b'avrc's  attempt  to  open  negotiations  through 
the  medium  of  luigland.  On  Se])tcml)er  12  Thiers  had  set  out  ivmn 
l^aris  on  his  frmious  ])ilgrimage  through  Eur("i])e,  led  bv  the  vain 
ho])e  that  some  of  the  powers  might  be  induced  to  interfere  in  behalf 
of  France.  Tie  visited  Fondon,  St.  Petersburg,  Vienna  and  I'dor- 
ence,  but  returned  emptydTanded.  lleforc  the  results  of  Thiers's 
efforts  were  known  l'"a\re  had  had  a  tneeting  with  Ijismarck  at 
I'^errieres,  September  19  and  20,  and  had  endea\-ored  to  arraiige  an 
armistice.  i\s  conditions  of  a  suspension  of  hostilities  for  three 
weeks,  making  possible  the  election  and  meeting  of  a  national  as- 
sembly, P)ismarck  demanded  llic  possession  of  Ihlsch,  d^)ld,  Strass- 
burg  and  the   fort  of  Ab)nt   N'alcricn   near   Paris.       The   garrison 

167 


468  FRANCE 

1370-1871 

of  Strassburg  were  to  be  surrendered  as  prisoners  of  war.  "  Yon 
forget,  count,  that  yon  are  speaking  to  a  Frenchman !  "  was  Favre's 
indignant  answer. 

On  the  very  day  that  the  meeting  occurred  at  Ferrieres,  the 
Germans  took  Chatillon  and  the  siege  of  Paris  began.  Anticipating 
this  fact,  the  provisional  government  had  sent  three  of  its  members 
to  Tours  the  second  week  in  September,  and  into  the  hands  of  this 
delegation  the  government  of  France  outside  Paris  was  to  fall.  It 
was  not  equal  to  the  demands  made  upon  it.  The  large  cities  of 
the  south — Lyons,  Marseilles  and  Bordeaux — dominated  by  the 
socialists,  were  going  their  own  way,  and  the  evil  of  foreign  invasion 
seemed  about  to  be  doubled  by  that  of  anarchy.  Elections  for  a 
national  assembly  had  been  set  for  October  i6  by  the  Paris  govern- 
ment, but  afterwards  countermanded.  The  delegation  at  Tours, 
incapable  of  resisting  the  pressure  brought  to  bear  by  the  radical 
forces  of  the  south,  reaffirmed  the  first  decree.  A  strong  hand  was 
needed.  Paris  was  already  shut  in  by  the  Germans,  but  Gambetta 
made  his  escape  in  a  balloon  on  October  6,  reached  Tours  in  safety 
and  assumed  control  of  affairs.  He  was  practically  dictator.  The 
elections  were  again  suspended  and  his  vigorous  measures  soon  put 
an  end  to  the  disorders  in  the  south. 

On  October  27  France  experienced  the  second  great  disas- 
ter of  the  war  in  the  capitulation  of  Metz.  One  hundred  and 
seventy-three  thousand  men,  including  three  marshals  and  six 
thousand  officers,  went  into  captivity.  It  mattered  little  whether 
Bazaine  had  been  false  to  France  and  had  sullied  tlie  honor  of  a 
soldier  by  his  too  speedy  surrender,  the  fact  remained  that  his  deed 
had  shattered  the  hopes  that  rested  upon  the  possibility  of  relieving 
Metz  and  making  its  army  the  center  of  the  reorganized  forces. 
There  was  now  nothincf  to  distract  attention  from  beleao-uered  Paris, 
and  all  the  resources  of  Gambetta  and  his  associates  were  concen- 
trated in  the  supreme  effort  to  bring  it  relief.  The  effort  was  in 
vain.  The  raw  levies  of  the  French,  numerous  as  they  were,  were 
no  match  for  the  seasoned  and  thoroughly  trained  soldiers  of  the 
German  armies.  One  army  after  another  was  defeated;  the  sorties 
of  the  Paris  garrison  were  disastrous :  the  outcome  of  the  situation 
was  never  in  doubt.  After  a  bombardment  of  a  montli,  threatened 
with  starvation,  Paris  capitulated  January  28,  1871.  The  armistice 
was  to  last  until  the  noon  of  February  19  to  permit  the  electicMis  to 
take  place  for  a  national  assembly.     The  forts  of  Paris  were  sur- 


T  H  E     T  II  I  R  D     REP  U  B  L  I  C  4fi9 

1871 

rendered  to  the  Germans,  and  all  llie  Q-arriscm,  cxxcpt  one  division 
of  the  army  and  tlic  nalidiial  guards,  were  disarmed. 

The  elections  took  place  on  h'ehruary  8,  and  the  13th  of  the 
same  month,  at  l^ortleanx,  Jnles  l'a\re  relinqnished  to  the  assembly 
the  authority  that  had  been  temi)orarily  exercised  by  the  "Govern- 
ment of  National  Defense."  The  assembly  was  largely  composed 
of  country  gentlemen,  supporters  of  tlie  monarchy,  but  chiefly  intent 
on  making  peace  and  ridding  b^rance  of  the  Germans.  The  most 
prominent  man  in  the  assembly  was  Thiers,  and  it  was  c|uite  natural 
that  he  should  1)e  elected  "  head  of  the  executive  power,"  with 
authority  to  choose  his  own  ministers.  The  republic  was  not  pro- 
claimed, but  it  was  declared  that  "  tlie  nation's  decision  as  to  the 
definite  form  of  government  would  be  awaited."  Thiers  selected 
his  ministers  from  the  moderate  deputies  and  announced  that  his 
only  programme  was  to  make  a  satisfactory  peace,  reorganize  the 
country  and  revive  its  credit.  ]\v  this  statement,  the  so-called  "  Com- 
pact of  Bordeaux,"  it  was  understood  that  he  pledged  himself  to 
make  no  use  of  his  power  to  favor  any  one  party  or  form  of  gov- 
ernment. 

Thiers  at  once  returned  to  Versailles  to  begin  with  Bismarck 
the  negotiations  for  the  final  peace.  An  agreement  was  at  last 
reached  February  26,  1871.  In-ance  was  to  pay  five  billion  francs 
and  surrender  Alsace-Lorraine,  together  with  the  fortress  of  Metz. 
Bismarck  had  originally  demanded  Belfort,  but  bad  agreed  to  with- 
draw tbat  claim  if  the  German  troops  were  allowed  the  satisfaction 
of  entering  Paris  and  remaining  there  until  the  ass_mblv  had  ratified 
the  action  of  Thiers.  iMarch  i  the  assembly  accepted  the  terms  that 
Thiers  had  brought  to  Bordeaux,  and  the  same  night  the  telegraph 
flashed  the  news  to  Paris.  The  fcdlowing  day  Bismarck  was  ofli- 
cially  notified,  and  on  March  3  the  Germans,  who  had  entered  Paris 
ivlarch  i,  withdrew  from  the  city. 

The  preliminaries  having  been  accepted,  the  negotiations  for 
the  final  treaty  began  in  Brussels  in  March.  They  were  interrupted 
for  a  time  bv  the  struggle  with  the  commune,  renewed  at  b^rankfort 
in  May, and  the  treaty  was  finally  signed  at  b'rankfort  May  20,  1871. 
Germany  bought  the  railroads  in  the  ceded  territory  for  325,ooo,c)0(T 
francs  and  consented  to  renounce  the  commercial  treaty  of  1862 
upon  which  it  had  insisted  at  Brussels. 

After  voting  for  ])eace  at  Pordeaux,  the  assembly  had  ad- 
journed to  Versailles.     The  goxernmcnt  had  passed  a  lew  days  at 


4T0  F  R  A  N  C  E 

1871 

Paris,  but  had  retreated  before  the  communal  revolution.  The  frat- 
ricidal struggle  that  followed  between  the  insurrectionists  of  Paris 
and  the  national  government  at  Versailles  filled  two  months.  The 
German  army  looked  curiously  on. 

The  uprising  was  due  to  the  conditions  resulting  from  the  long 
siege  and  to  the  socialistic  ideas  of  some  of  the  leaders  of  the  Paris 
populace.  During  the  siege  the  payment  of  rents  and  of  debts  had 
been  suspended  by  order  of  the  provisional  government,  and  na- 
tional guardsmen  had  received  a  franc  and  a  half  each  day.  The 
assembly  permitted  again  the  collection  of  rents  and  debts,  before 
Paris  had  returned  to  normal  economic  conditions,  and  deprived 
the  guardsmen  of  their  stipend  unless  they  presented  proof  of  actual 
need.  Add  to  this  the  fear  on  the  part  of  the  masses  that  this  royal- 
ist assembly  was  about  to  overthrow-  the  republic,  and  it  becomes 
evident  that  Paris  was  ripe  for  revolution.  The  national  guard  had 
not  been  disarmed  and  the  battalions  of  the  suburbs,  seizing  a  park 
of  artillery  that  was  not  properly  protected,  had  drawn  the  pieces 
to  Montmarte  and  there  stood  guard  over  them. 

As  early  as  ]\larch  13  a  central  committee  of  the  guards  had 
been  formed,  under  the  influence  of  the  socialist  leaders  that  w^ere 
to  play  a  prominent  role  during  the  commune.  For  several  days  the 
government  allowed  matters  to  take  their  course.  On  the  morning 
of  the  1 8th  the  Parisians  awoke  to  "find  the  streets  in  the  vicinity  of 
Montmarte  in  the  possession  of  the  regular  troops.  All  things  but 
one  had  been  provided  for — there  w-ere  no  horses  to  drag  the  cannon 
away.  While  this  defect  was  being  made  good  the  national  guards 
had  time  to  gather  and  offer  resistance.  The  troops  proved  unrelia- 
ble, fraternizing  with  the  insurrectionists  and  permitting  them  to 
seize  General  Leconte  and  some  of  his  officers.  Later  General 
Clement  Thomas,  in  command  of  the  national  guard  of  Paris,  fell 
into  their  hands.  Both  generals  were  taken  at  once  before  a  so- 
called  council  of  war,  condemned  to  death  and  shot.  The  com- 
mittee of  the  insurrectionists  then  took  possession  of  the  Hotel  de 
Villc.  They  met  with  practically  no  opposition  from  the  national 
government,  tliat  considered  itself  fortunate  to  be  able  to  withdraw 
its  troops  from  the  city  before  all  discipline  had  disappeared. 

Some  resistance  was,  however,  attempted  by  the  conserva- 
tive citizens  of  Paris.  The  national  guards  of  the  well-to-do  districts 
made  a  demcjnstration  in  favor  of  law  and  order,  but  it  led  only 
to  a  massacre  and  a  victory  for  the  insurrectionists.    The  mayors  of 


A     l'KTk(il.Kl'>K      IIAkAM,riN(,      IIKK     io\|K\|i;.:>     To     I  \  i  K  N  1 1|  \K  I  S  M 
lll'l<l.\(,     THK     kKl(,.\     III-     THK    ((iMMI    \1.    IN     I'AKIm 


THE     THIRD     REPUBLIC  471 

1871 

the  various  (innrters  of  l\'iris  sought  to  mediate  between  the  govern- 
ment at  Versailles  and  the  group  at  the  ilntel  de  Vilie.  I'hey  olv 
tained  a  delay  in  die  eolleetion  of  rents  and  (lel)ts,  the  right  of  the 
national  guard  to  elect  their  own  officers,  and  the  election  of  the 
communal  council  of  Paris  by  universal  suffrage.  In  the  electicjns 
that  took  place  March  26  the  supporters  of  the  central  committee 
secured  a  strong  majority  in  the  council,  and  the  conservatives  that 
had  been  elected  refused  to  sit.  The  rupture  was  complete.  The 
national  government  had  abandoned  Paris,  not  even  supporting  the 
national  guards  who  had  opposed  the  insurrection,  had  evacuated 
the  forts  about  the  city  and  concentrated  its  troops  around  Ver- 
sailles, to  defend  the  assembly. 

The  government  of  Paris  was  now  assumed  by  the  council,  but 
the  central  committee  continued  to  sit,  "  in  order,"  as  it  said,  "  to 
serve  as  a  link  between  the  commune  and  the  national  guard.*' 
The  national  guards  favorable  to  the  government  at  Versailles  were 
disarmed,  compulsory  military  service  for  all  able-bodied  men  was 
established,  and  the  acts  of  the  "  Versailles  government "  were  de- 
clared void.  The  commune  adopted  the  revolutionary  calendar  and 
the  red  flag,  but  it  had  no  definite  socialistic  programme.  It  appealed 
through  proclamations  and  delegates  to  the  other  cities  of  Prance, 
urging  them  to  follow-  the  example  of  Paris  and  establish  absolute 
communal  autonomy.  "The  unity  of  Prance"  would  thus  be  as- 
sured by  the  association  of  "  the  communes  adherent  to  the  con- 
tract " ;  each  commune  sliould  be  sovereign,  and  the  communes 
should  be  united  by  a  federal  tie.  Marseilles.  Toulouse,  Lyons  and 
a  few  other  cities  attempted  to  follow  th.e  example  of  Paris,  but 
outside  of  the  capital  the  disturbances  were  of  but  short  duration 
and  of  slight  consequence. 

The  commune  never  possessed  a  properly  organized  government. 
Ten  committees  had  been  appointed,  but  the  direction  of  affairs 
was  in  the  hands  of  an  "  executive  committee  "  of  nine  delegated 
from  the  other  committees.  "  Each  of  the  nine  took  the  title  of 
minister,  as  if  he  were  at  the  head  of  a  department."  Mxercising  an 
absolute  authority  in  civil  and  military  affairs,  the  commune  em- 
ployed for  the  conduct  of  its  business  revolutionary  journalists  and 
club  orators.  In  some  of  the  offices  day  laborers  were  installed,  men 
entirely  unknown  and  never  elected  to  membership  in  the  com- 
mune. Little  time  was  given  for  sober  thought  concerning  social 
reforms,  even  had  the  men  in  control  of  the  city  government  been 


472  FRANCE 

1871 

capable  of  it;  the  revolutionary  government  from  its  very  inception 
was  forced  to  fight  for  its  life  against  the  assembly  at  V^ersailles. 

At  the  outset  the  communists  took  the  initiative  and  attempted 
to  attack  Versailles.  It  had  an  army  of  194,000  men  and  8500 
officers.  With  this  force  and  in  possession  of  the  forts  that  the 
government  had  evacuated,  it  took  the  offensive  on  April  2 
and  3.  The  troops  of  the  commune  were  driven  back  with  great 
slaughter.  One  thousand  prisoners  were  taken,  conducted  to  Ver- 
sailles, tried  by  a  court-martial  and  shot.  All  through  the  struggle 
Thiers  refused  to  recognize  the  insurrectionists  as  belligerents.  So 
serious  at  this  time  did  the  danger  attendant  upon  self-govern- 
ment by  the  cities  of  France  seem  to  him  that  he  threatened  to  resign 
if  the  assembly  did  not  place  the  power  of  appointing  mayors  in 
cities  of  more  than  twenty  thousand  inhabitants  in  the  hands  of 
the  national  executive. 

Although  MacMahon  was  substituted  for  Vinoy  April  3,  1871, 
in  command  of  the  national  troops,  it  was  not  until  April  25  that  the 
government  abandoned  its  defensive  attitude.  On  that  day  128 
batteries  opened  fire  on  the  forts  and  walls  of  Paris.  The  bombard- 
ment lasted  for  two  weeks.  May  9  the  fort  of  Issy  was  taken. 
May  14  that  of  Vanves  and  May  16  Montrouges.  These  successes 
only  served  to  increase  the  fury  of  the  insurrectionists.  As  the 
struggle  became  more  desperate,  the  leadership  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  more  daring  and  unscrupulous.  Treason  and  conspiracy  were 
suspected  in  all  quarters ;  a  committee  of  public  safety  sprang  into 
existence  by  the  side  of  the  central  committee  and  the  council  of 
the  commune ;  wholesale  arrests  were  made  and  acts  of  violence  in- 
creased; the  Vendome  Column  was  overthrown  and  the  house  of 
Thiers  was  gutted.  It  was  even  proposed  in  the  council  on  May 
20  that  when  the  government  troops  entered  Paris  all  the  pub- 
lic buildings  of  the  city  should  be  destroyed  by  fire. 

On  May  21  and  22,  1871,  the  troops  entered  the  city.  For 
four  days  and  five  nights  the  battle  raged  in  the  streets  of  Paris. 
Then  the  threats  of  destruction  previously  made  were  carried  out. 
On  the  night  of  the  23d  flames  broke  out  from  the  Tuileries  and 
the  Louvre.  In  a  short  time  fires  had  been  set  in  the  Palais  Royal, 
the  prefecture,  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  the  various  ministries,  in  churches, 
cloisters,  stcjres  and  railroad  stations.  Many  of  these  were  saved, 
but  some  of  the  most  valuable  historical  buildings  of  Paris,  including 
the  Tuileries  and  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  were  destroyed.     In  the  mad- 


THE     THIRD     R  E  P  U  B  L  I  C  473 

1871 

ness  of  the  last  hours  Archbishop  Darlioy  and  other  (h"slinguishcil 
persons  who  had  been  seized  as  hostages  w  ere  put  to  death. 

The  loss  on  both  sides  was  serious.  Uow  many  thousand  per- 
ished will  never  be  known.  Some  twenty-five  thousand  prisoners 
were  taken,  and  for  five  years  the  court-marshal  was  engaged  in 
passing  judgment  upon  them.  A  few  were  executed,  several  th(Mi- 
sand  were  exiled  or  deported,  and  twenty  th(nisand  released.  The 
commune  was  completely  crushed  and  tlie  assembly  could  now  turn 
its  attention  to  the  reorganization  of  I'^rance. 

The  political  situation  of  France  at  the  close  of  the  war  was 
decidedly  anomalous.  The  empire  had  been  a1)olished,  but  nothing 
definite  had  taken  its  place.  An  assembly  elected  without  term,  a 
president  also  serving  for  an  indefinite  term,  responsi])le  to  the 
assembly,  his  own  prime  minister,  but  surrounded  by  a  cabinet  of 
his  own  choice,  these  were  the  temporary  organs  of  the  central 
government.  What  the  outcome  would  be  no  man  could  foretell. 
For  a  few  months,  however,  the  question  of  what  form  the  govern- 
ment should  assume  was  subordinated  to  the  more  important  ques- 
tion of  the  evacuation  of  the  country  by  the  German  troops.  They 
were  to  remain  until  the  indemnity  was  paid,  and  to  meet  this  claim 
at  once  was  the  serious  task  that  Thiers  set  himself.  The  prol)!em 
was  solved  with  a  rapidity  that  filled  hLurope  with  astonishment  and 
admiration.  Two  loans  were  made,  one  in  June,  icSji,  for  2.000,- 
000,000,  another  in  July  for  3,000,000,000  francs,  and  were  sub- 
scribed for  many  times  over.  It  was  a  magnificent  display  of  the 
resources  and  of  the  patriotism  of  the  French  pconic  and  of  the 
confidence  of  foreign  capitalists  in  the  future  of  France.  The  opera- 
tions were  not  concluded  until  1873,  a  sh(M't  time  after  Thiers  had 
retired  from  the  presidency.  In  September  of  that  year  the  last 
German  soldier  marched  over  the  frontier,  and  France  was  free  once 
more.  For  some  time  the  government  of  the  country  showed  the 
effects  of  foreign  and  civil  war.  The  large  cities  remained  in  a  state 
of  siege  and  an  arbitrary  authority  was  exercised  over  the  press. 
The  municipal  law,  passed  in  1871,  allowing  all  cities  with  less  tlian 
twenty  thousand  inhabitants  to  elect  their  mayors,  but  for  cities 
with  a  larger  population  placing  the  appointment  in  the  hands  of 
the  executive,  was  an  indication  of  the  impression  that  the  com- 
munistic uprising  had  made  uikmi  Thieis.  In  !lie  same  year  a 
departmental  law  increased  the  powers  of  the  deiiartmental  coun- 
cils, thus  taking  the  first  step  in  the  direction  of  a  much-needed 


474  FRANCE 

1871 

decentralization.  The  lesson  taught  by  the  war,  the  self-evident 
superiority  of  the  Prussian  military  system,  led  to  the  abolition,  in 
1 87 1,  of  the  national  guard,  and  the  reorganization  of  the  army  on 
the  Prussian  model,  but  with  a  five-year  service.  It  was  the  begin- 
ning of  the  armed  peace  for  Europe. 

Until  the  passage  of  the  Rivet-Vitet  measure  in  August,  1871, 
Thiers  with  the  title,  "  head  of  the  executive  power,"  occupied  a 
unique  position  in  the  government.  He  formulated  his  ow^n  policy 
and  defended  it  personally  before  the  assembly  to  which  he  was 
responsible,  often  occupying  the  tribune  several  times  during  the 
same  session.  His  ministerial  experience,  his  reputation  as  a  his- 
torian, and  his  remarkable  oratorical  powers  left  him  without  a 
rival.  Supported  by  the  belief  that  his  policy  w'ould  receive  the 
approval  of  posterity,  he  announced  his  indifference  to  the  criticism 
of  his  opponents  in  the  assembly.  Thiers  w^as  intolerant  of  opposi- 
tion to  his  policies,  and  on  one  occasion  when  the  assembly  had 
rejected  a  financial  measure  to  which  he  had  given  his  support  he 
sent  in  his  resignation.  He  reconsidered  his  action  only  when  the 
assembly  appealed  to  his  patriotism,  assuring  him  that  their  vote 
had  no  political  significance  and  in  no  w^ay  reflected  upon  him. 

Important  as  were  the  measures  that  the  assembly  had  passed, 
the  foundation  of  peace  was  lacking  until  France  had  been  given 
a  definite  government.  Thiers  had  pledged  himself  at  Bordeaux 
not  to  work  in  the  interest  of  any  particular  form  of  government,  but 
the  republic  was  slipping  into  existence  because  of  this  very  negative 
policy.  The  longer  the  restoration  of  the  monarchy  was  deferred, 
tlie  more  France  became  accustomed  to  republican  forms,  and  the 
more  difficult  of  realization  became  the  plan  of  the  monarchists. 
The  delay  was  due  to  the  inability  to  agree  upon  an  occupant  for 
the  throne.  All  attempts  to  reconcile  the  legitimists  with  the 
Orleanists  had  been  in  va'in.  The  Orleanists  were  ready  to  recog- 
nize tlie  Count  of  Chambord  as  king  on  condition  that  he  should 
ackn(jwledge  the  Count  of  Paris  as  his  successor,  reign  as  a  con- 
stitutional king,  and  accept  the  tricolored  flag  in  place  of  the  white 
flag  of  the  ]  jourbons.  The  negotiations  had,  up  to  the  end  of  Thiers's 
ministry,  proved  fruitless.  The  assembly  had  cleared  the  way  for 
any  actidu  towards  llie  princes  that  nfight  seem  desirable  by  an- 
nulling the  (Icciee  of  banishment  that  had  been  passed  against  them 
under  the  emjjire  and  by  restoring  to  the  Orleanists  the  property 
that  had  been  confiscated. 


THE     THIRD     REPUBLIC  47o 

1871-1872 

The  Rivct-Vitct  law  of  Aug^ust  31,  1871,  conferred  upon 
Thiers  llic  title.  "  President  of  the  hVench  Rcpubhe."  lie  was  1<» 
continue  to  exercise  his  functions  as  lon^-  as  the  asseml)ly  existed, 
each  of  his  acts  was  tt)  ])e  countersigned  by  a  minister,  hut — stranc;e 
contradiction — he  himself  continued  to  l)e  lield  responsible  to  the 
assembly.  The  republicans  of  the  left  voted  against  this  measure, 
as  it  affirmed  the  constituent  power  of  the  assembly,  an  attribute 
that  they  had  constantly  denied  to  that  body.  Although  the  royal- 
ists did  not  want  the  republic,  they  did  wish  to  display  the  con- 
stituent power  of  the  assembly,  in  order  that  they  might  he  justi- 
fied in  using  it  to  establish  the  monarchy  when  the  opportunity 
offered  itself. 

Both  republicans  and  Bonapartists  had  demanded  dissolution 
and  an  appeal  to  the  country,  the  republicans  judging  from  the  sup- 
plementary elections  that  the  majority  of  the  voters  were  in  favor 
of  a  republican  form  of  government.  In  the  summer  of  1872,  dur- 
ing the  parliamentary  recess,  Gambetta  addressed  the  people  in 
various  parts  of  France,  criticising  the  course  of  the  assembly.  At 
Grenoble,  September  26,  he  declared  that  "  the  country  after  having 
tried  many  forms  of  government,  wishes  at  last  to  appeal  to  another 
social  stratum  and  to  experiment  with  the  reijublic."  He  counseled 
moderation  and  added  that  "  the  employment  of  force  would  be  a 
crime  under  a  regime  s])rung  from  universal  suffrage.  He  expected 
nothing,"  he  said,  '"  except  from  time,  from  persuasion,  from  the 
force  of  things,  from  the  impotence,  the  sterility,  and  cowardice  of 
the  monarchical  parties."  He  then  concluded :  "  Dissolution  is 
there  like  the  grave-digger,  ready  to  throw  the  last  clod  of  earth 
on  the  corpse  of  the  assembly  of  Versailles."  The  constitutional 
or  conservative  republic  of  Thiers  he  regarded  as  "  an  ignoble 
comedy." 

The  life  of  the  assembly  was,  however,  in  its  own  hands,  and 
the  monarchists,  p(jssessing  a  majority,  showed  no  desire  to  plav 
into  the  hands  of  their  opponents  by  agreeing  to  a  dissolution.  In 
December,  1872,  Thiers  committed  himself  frankly  to  the  republic, 
declaring  that  "  it  exists,  that  it  is  the  legal  government  of  the 
country;  to  desire  anything  else  would  be  a  new  revolution  and  the 
most  redoubtable  of  all."  The  royalists  charged  him  with  violating 
the  "  Compact  of  Bordeaux.''  and  the  friction  between  them  steadily- 
increased.  The  task  of  ruling  with  a  ministry  formed  from  the 
groups  in  the  assembly,  exclusive  of  the  republicans  desiring  disso- 


476  FRANCE 

1872-1873 

Intion  and  the  monarchists  opposed  to  a  republic,  was  ever  more 
difficult.  A  resolution  passed  by  the  assembly  March  13,  1873, 
deprived  Thiers  of  a  large  part  of  his  influence  by  excluding  him 
from  the  debates  of  the  assembly.  If  he  wished  to  address  that 
body  he  must  announce  his  purpose  in  a  message ;  the  assembly,  after 
listening  to  him,  must  then  adjourn,  no  debate  being  permitted  in 
the  presence  of  the  president.  Thiers  was  much  nettled  by  this  act, 
characterized  it  as  cliinoiscric,  making  it  impossible  for  him  to 
communicate  effectively  with  the  assembly,  but  he  continued  to  hold 
office. 

The  end  soon  came  for  him.  The  growth  of  republicanism 
in  the  country  and  the  election  of  republicans  to  the  assembly  were 
laid  at  his  door.  The  government  was  not  sufficiently  conservative, 
it  was  said.  There  were  signs  of  the  coming  storm,  and  they  did 
not  escape  Thiers.  In  November,  1872,  before  he  had  been 
excluded  from  the  tribune,  divining  the  intrigues  that  prepared  his 
overthrow,  he  had  said  audaciously  to  the  majority :  "  Do  you  wish 
a  slave  here,  a  hireling  to  do  your  will,  who,  to  keep  his  place  for 
a  few  days  more,  will  always  be  your  courtier?  Then,  by  Heaven, 
choose  him !  .  .  .  There  are  enough  of  them,"  When  the 
assembly  met  in  May,  1873,  after  the  vacation,  the  right  opened  the 
attack  upon  the  president  by  means  of  the  following  interpellation : 
"  The  undersigned,  convinced  that  the  gravity  of  the  situation 
demands,  at  the  head  of  affairs,  a  cabinet  whose  firmness  reassures 
the  country,  asks  to  be  permitted  to  interpellate  the  ministry  upon 
the  recent  changes  that  have  taken  place  in  their  body  and  upon  the 
necessity  of  introducing  into  the  government  a  more  resolutely  con- 
servative policy."  The  reply  of  the  ministry  was  to  lay  before  the 
assembly  a  project  for  the  organization  of  the  government.  The 
assembly  refused  to  listen  to  the  reading  of  it.  The  debate  on  the 
interpellation  opened  on'  May  23,  and  on  the  24th  Thiers  ap- 
peared in  the  tribune  and  for  two  hours  spoke  in  defense  of  his 
policy.  "  No,"  he  exclaimed  in  the  midst  of  the  applause  of  the 
right,  "  I  ha\e  no  fear  for  my  memory,  for  I  do  not  expect  to  be 
summoned  before  the  tribunal  of  parties.  Before  them  I  shall  not 
present  myself.  I  shall  not  fail  to  appear  before  history,  and  I 
deserve  a  hearing  of  her."  But  this  was  the  tribunal  of  parties, 
and  it  rejected  the  previous  question  proposed  by  the  government. 
Thiers  resigned,  and  his  resignation  was  accepted.  In  the  same  ses- 
sion Marshal  MacMahon  was  elected  as  his  successor.     The  marshal 


THE     THIRD     RETUBLIC  477 

1873 

at  once  called  upon  Thiers  and,  much  disturbed  in  mind,  asked  him 
if  it  was  permissible  for  him  to  accept  the  office.  "  You  are  the 
best  judge  of  it,"  dryly  replied  Thiers.  ''If  you  would  promise  to 
reconsider  your  action  and  withdraw  your  resignation,  I  would 
refuse."  "As  to  that.  Marshal,"  was  the  answer,  "I  have  never 
taken  part  in  a  comedy,  and  I  shall  not  take  part  in  that  one." 

MacMahon  was  the  candidate  of  the  monarchists,  the  rej^ubh- 
cans  having  refrained  from  voting.  He  remained  in  office  until 
1876.  During  his  presidency  an  attempt  to  restore  the  monarchy 
that  promised  much  failed,  and  in  1875  the  constitutional  laws  were 
passed  that  finally  established  the  republic.  The  monarchists  made 
a  last  desperate  effort  to  retain  control  of  the  government,  although 
in  the  minority,  but  the  elections  went  against  them  and  Mac- 
Mahon resigned,  and  the  republic  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
republicans. 

The  successor  of  Thiers  was  a  monarchist  and  a  supporter  of 
the  Orleanist  party.  It  was  well  understood  when  ^MacAIahon  was 
elected  that  he  was  ready  to  lay  down  his  authority  whenever  the 
assembly  should  vote  for  the  restoration  of  one  of  the  claimants  to 
the  throne.  In  the  fall  of  1873  it  was  generally  believed  that  the 
restoration  would  really  be  accomplished.  The  Count  of  Paris 
visited  the  Count  of  Chambord  at  Frohsdorf  in  Austria,  in  August, 
1873.  The  representative  of  the  younger  line  made  Ir's  submission, 
and  the  elder  agreed  to  recognize  the  Count  of  Paris  as  his  legiti- 
mate successor.  It  still  remained  to  satisfy  the  Orleanist  party  as  to 
the  nature  of  the  government  that  would  be  instituted  by  the  re- 
stored Bourbons.  This  difficulty  promised  also  to  rcceixc  ;i  satisfac- 
tory solution.  A  committee  of  nine,  chosen  by  the  monarchist  mem- 
bers of  the  right  and  the  right  center,  or  the  Bt)urbonists  and  Orlcan- 
ists  in  the  assembly,  negotiated  during  the  ni'MUh  (n  August  with  the 
Count  of  Chambord  concerning  the  constitution  .'ind  tlie  tric(~»lorcd 
flag,  and  finally  sent  a  representative  to  b^-ohsdorf  to  ct)mmunicate 
directly  with  the  count.  The  negotiations  were  successful.  It  was 
agreed  that  after  the  assembly  had  recognized  the  royal  hereditary 
right  of  the  Count  of  Chambord  that  a  charter,  not  imposed  upon 
the  assembly  by  the  count,  should  l)e  agreed  upon  by  tlie  assembly 
and  the  king,  thus  recognizing  the  rights  of  ])ot!i.  The  Ijascs  of 
the  charter  were  to  be  the  collective  exercise  of  the  legislative  power 
by  the  king  and  the  two  chambers,  tlie  attribution  of  the  executive 
power  to  the  king,  the  inviolability  of  his  person  and  the  respon- 


478  F  R  A  N  C:  E 

1873-1874 

sibility  of  the  ministers.  In  addition  to  all  this,  civil  and  religious 
liberty,  equality  before  the  law,  free  access  of  all  citizens  to  civil 
and  military  offices,  the  annual  vote  of  the  budget  by  the"  representa- 
tives of  the  nation  would  be  stipulated.  "  As  to  the  flag,"  ran  the 
agreement,  "  the  Count  of  Chambord,  who  respects  the  sentiment 
of  the  army  for  a  flag  stained  with  the  blood  of  our  soldiers,  who 
has  never  been  an  alien  to  the  glories  and  to  the  sufferings  of  the 
country,  who  has  never  had  the  intention  of  humiliating  either  his 
country  or  the  flag  under  which  our  soldiers  have  fought  so  val- 
iantly, admits  the  following  statement :  The  tricolored  flag  is  main- 
tained ;  it  may  be  modified  only  as  the  result  of  an  agreement 
between  the  king  and  the  assembly." 

Apparently  nothing  remained  but  to  proclaim  the  monarchy. 
The  committee  of  nine  prepared  the  programme ;  the  members  of 
the  right  and  of  the  right  center  accepted  it  and  prepared  to  pro- 
claim the  Count  of  Chambord  as  Henry  V. ;  Marshal  MacMahon 
announced  publicly  that  he  had  "been  elected  by  the  majority  of  the 
conservatives  and  that  he  should  not  separate  himself  from  them." — 
in  other  words,  if  they  voted  to  restore  the  monarchy,  he  would 
offer  no  resistance.  In  the  last  days  of  October  the  restoration  was 
momentarily  expected ;  the  carriages  were  bought  that  were  to  con- 
duct the  king  to  Notre  Dame.  That  nothing  came  of  all  this  was 
due  to  a  letter  written  by  the  Count  of  Chambord,  October  27,  1873, 
to  Chesnelong,  one  of  the  seven  delegates  to  Frohsdorf.  A 
garbled  account  of  the  agreement  between  himself  and  the  seven 
had  been  published,  and  the  future  king  wished  to  set  himself 
straight  with  the  public.  It  was  "  pretended  that  he  had  consented 
to  become  the  legitimate  king  of  the  revolution,"  and  he  felt  that 
"  he  owed  the  whole  truth  to  this  country  by  which  he  might  be 
misunderstood,  but  that  renders  homage  to  his  sincerity,  because 
it  knows  that  he  had  never  deceived  it  and  never  would  deceive  it." 
He  did  not  declare  that  he  would  not  accept  the  tricolor,  nor  did 
he  recall  anything  that  he  had  previously  promised,  but  the  whole 
letter  had  such  an  uncertain  ring  to  it  that  it  aroused  the  suspicions 
of  the  Orleanists.  They  feared  that  they  were  about  to  assist  at 
a  restoration  that  would  lack  constitutional  restraints  and  that  would 
not  maintain  the  flag  of  the  revolution.  Stormy  scenes  passed 
between  the  right  and  the  right  center.  The  two  groups  finally 
agreed  to  continue  to  control  the  government  and  to  leave  open 
the  way  for  a  restoration  in  the  future  by  conferring  the  presidency 


T  IT  i:     Till  R  D     11  E  r  r  15  L  I  ( '  479 

1874-1875 

upon  MacMalioii  for  ten  years.  They  made  some  conccssi(Mi  to 
public  demands  for  a  constitution  by  proposinj^  the  noniinaiion 
of  a  committee  of  thirty  for  the  examination  of  any  constitutional 
laws  that  might  be  proposed. 

The  del)ate  upon  a  term  of  ten  years  for  MacAIahon  that 
opened  November  5  in  the  assembly  lasted  until  the  20th  of  the 
same  month.  Grevy  taunted  the  ri^lit  with  wanting-  a  monarchy 
that  they  could  not  have  and  refusing  to  organize  a  republic  that 
they  were  able  to  form.  The  result  of  the  debate  was  a  compro- 
mise. MacMahon's  power  was  iixed  for  seven  years,  "  to  be  exer- 
cised with  the  title  of  president  of  the  republic  under  the  present  con- 
ditions, until  changes  have  been  made  in  tliem  bv  tlic  constitutional 
laws.''  Three  days  after  the  publication  of  this  lav;  the  committee 
of  thirty  was  to  be  elected.  It  was  under  sucli  conditions  that  the 
constitutional  term  of  office  of  the  president  of  the  French  republic 
was  fixed  at  seven  years. 

Until  January,  1875,  the  committee  of  tidrty  accomplislied 
nothing-.  It  was  elected  to  kill  time  and  to  prevent  tlie  formation 
of  a  constitution,  and  for  more  than  a  year  it  kept  within  its  role. 
The  government  was  still  a  provisional  one.  A  portion  of  the 
assembly  looked  upon  the  sc])lennate  as  "  the  vestibule  to  the  repub- 
lic, another  portion  as  the  vestibule  to  the  monarchy."  Th.e  Orlcan- 
ist  party,  in  control  of  the  presidency  tlirough  Alarshal  Mac}>Ial'ion, 
attempted  to  get  control  of  the  chamber  by  a  new  h'dcctoral  Law 
limiting  the  franchise.  The  measure  was  defeated  by  a  union  of 
the  legitimists  and  the  republicans.  A  new  ministry  was  thereupon 
formed,  dominated  by  Bonapartists.  They  governed  in  such  a  way 
as  to  strengthen  their  party  and  t(0  arouse  the  fears  of  the  mcMiarch- 
ists  of  the  Orleanist  group  that  allied  themselves  with  tlie  republi- 
cans, and  forced  a  consideration  of  the  constitutional  laws,  so  long- 
delayed. 

The  three  laws  passed  in  February  and  July,  1875,  constitute 
the  so-called  Constitution  of  1875,  by  which  I'' ranee  is  now  go\- 
erned.  The  central  government  consists  of  a  president,  senate,  and 
chamber  of  deputies.  The  president  is  elected  bv  the  senate  and 
assembly  in  combined  session  ior  a  term  n\  sc\en  }-ears.  He  is 
the  irresponsible  head  of  th.e  state,  actiiig  thrimgh  his  ministers. 
who  are  responsible  to  the  senate  and  chamljer.  With  the  ai)prn\al 
of  the  senate  he  may  dissolve  the  ch;imbcr.  While  the  prc.-idcnt 
Jias  the  right  to  a[)point  the  ministers,   in  practice  he  has  simply 


480  FRANCE 

1875-1876 

chosen  the  representatives  of  the  parliamentary  majority  in  the 
chamber. 

The  senate  consists  of  three  hundred  members,  three-fourths 
chosen  by  electoral  colleges  in  the  departments,  for  nine  years — one- 
third  rei)laced  every  three  years ;  one-fourth  was  originally  selected 
for  life  by  the  chamber,  and  vacancies  caused  by  death  were  to  be 
filled  by  the  senate  itself.  The  senate  can  take  the  initiative  in  intro- 
ducing all  measures  except  those  dealing  with  the  budget,  and  has  a 
veto  power  on  the  action  of  the  chamber.  It  sits  as  a  high  court 
of  justice  to  try  ministers  and  others  charged  with  high  treason. 

The  chamber  is  elected  by  universal  suffrage  and  is  renewed  as 
a  v/hole  every  four  years.  It  has  a  legal  right  to  one  session  of 
five  months  each  year.  The  president  may  adjourn  the  chamber  for 
a  month,  but  not  more  than  twice  in  one  session. 

The  constitution  may  be  revised  by  the  two  houses  sitting 
together  as  a  national  assembly,  but  the  revision  can  take  place  only 
when  two  houses  have  voted  separately  to  hold  the  joint  meeting. 

The  constituent  assembly  elected  one-fourth  of  the  senators, 
and  when  the  elections  for  the  remaining  three-fourths  and  for  the 
chamber  had  taken  place  in  January  and  February,  1876,  the  new 
constitution  went  into  effect  March  8,  1876.  The  national  assem- 
bly had  closed  its  last  session  December  31,  1875,  having  remained 
in  power  for  five  years. 

The  majority  in  the  new  chamber  was  republican;  the  senate 
had  a  small  monarchical  majority,  while  the  president  was  a  mon- 
archist. The  republic  had  been  established,  but  the  attempt  was 
to  be  made  to  administer  it  without  republicans.  The  struggle 
between  MacMahon,  supported  by  the  senate,  and  the  chamber, 
lasted  for  three  years.  The  president  selected  a  ministry  from  the 
conservative  republicans,  but  insisted  on  keeping  three  places — war, 
navy  and  foreign  affairs — out  of  politics.  The  chamber  demanded 
the  removal  of  officials  hostile  to  the  republic,  but  this  was  only 
partially  conceded.  The  freedom  of  the  press  was  reestablished ; 
the  interference  of  the  government  in  elections  was  offset  by  the 
rejection  of  deputies  that  had  been  elected  through  official  aid;  in 
1876  an  act  was  passed  restoring  to  municipal  councils  the  right  of 
electing  the  mayor,  except  in  the  case  of  the  chief  town  of  each 
canton.  Because  of  the  interference  of  the  clergy  in  politics,  the 
chamber  prepared  bills  to  exclude  them  from  teaching  in  the  primary 
schools,  to  deprive  the  Catholic  universities  of  the  right  of  prepar- 


THE     THIRD     IIT^.  PTJBLIC  481 

1876-1879 

ing  studciViS  for  state  examinations,  and  refused  to  vote  money  for 
military  almoners.     The  crisis  was  reaclic,]  in  May,  1S77. 

The  president  had  accepted  a  republican  ministry,  but  he  con- 
sulted his  old  ministers  and  continued  to  recei\c  the  advice  of  the 
conservatives,  as  the  former  monarchists  were  now  called.  Acting 
on  their  advice,  he  dismissed  the  republican  nn'nistry,  May  16,  1877, 
took  a  conservative  ministry,  adjourned  the  chamber  for  a  month, 
and  then,  with  the  ccMisent  of  the  senate,  dissolved  it.  The  plan 
of  the  president  and  his  party  was  to  make  use  of  the  power  they 
possessed  to  manipulate  the  elections  and  thus  obtain  a  conservative 
majority  in  the  chamber.  To  obtain  more  time  for  preparation, 
the  ministry  violated  the  constitution,  extending  l)y  three  weeks  the 
period  within  which  the  constitution  ref[uired  that  the  electors  should 
meet.  "  It  changed  at  a  stroke  the  whole  administrative  body  and 
appointed  new  fighting  officials;  it  embarrassed  by  prohibitions  or 
prosecutions  the  sale  of  republican  journals,  political  meetings,  and 
agitation  for  the  republic;  it  suspended  republican  municipal  coun- 
cils, substituting  for  them  municipal  commissioners.  At  the  elec- 
tions it  presented  official  candidates,  indorsed  by  the  president  of 
the  republic,  and  published  presidential  manifestoes  to  the  French 
people."  The  republicans  forgot  their  differences  and  united  to  resist 
the  attack  of  the  conservatives  on  the  republic.  "  They  posed  as 
defenders  of  the  republic  against  the  revolutionary  coalition  of 
monarchists  and  clergy — as  defenders  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  peo- 
ple against  the  personal  power  of  the  president."  It  was  in  this 
campaign  that  Gambetta  pronounced  the  famous  phrase :  "  Our 
foe  is  clericalism."  In  the  elections  the  republicans  obtained  a  major- 
ity of  the  deputies.  The  ministry  resigned.  jMacMahon  selected 
a  conservative  ministry  outside  of  the  chamber,  but  the  chamber 
refused  to  recognize  it.  The  advisers  of  the  president  counseled  a 
coup  d'etat,  but  he  refused  to  go  to  such  extremes,  and  finally  sub- 
mitted, accepting  a  republican  ministry.  December,  1877.  This 
was  the  overthrow  of  the  conservative  party.  The  officials  dis- 
missed in  May  were  restored  to  office,  and  fifty  elections,  made 
under  administrative  or  clerical  pressure,  were  annulled.  Mac- 
Mahon  remained  in  office  a  year  longer,  but  when  the  renewal  of 
one-third  of  the  senate  gave  the  republicans  a  majority  in  that  body, 
he  resigned  and  w^as  succeeded  in  January,  187Q,  by  Jules  Grevy,  a 
radical  republican.  Since  that  time  the  republicans  have  remained 
in  control  of  the  government. 


482  F  R  A  N  C  E 

1879-1881 

Tlie  chriicc  by  tlic  national  assembl}'  of  Circvy  was  approved 
both  l)y  France  and  by  lun'opc.  It  seemed  manifest  tliat  llie  most 
wortby  had  Ijeen  raised  to  the  supreme  magistracy.  The  new  jM'esi- 
dent  was  seventy-two  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  election.  One 
of  the  most  distinguished  members  of  the  Paris  bar,  an  orator  of 
unusual  al)ility.  and  a  staunch  rei)ub]ican,  he  was  the  natural  choice 
for  the  high  oflicc  that  now  passed  for  the  first  time  into  the  hands 
of  the  republicans. 

Among  the  first  acts  of  the  new  government  were  the  transfer 
of  the  chambers  from  Versailles  to  Paris  (June,  1880),  and  the 
institution  of  the  annual  celebration  of  July  14 — the  date  of  the 
taking  of  the  Bastile.  It  announced  a  programme  of  reforms, 
including  freedom  of  the  press  and  of  public  meetings,  universal 
elections  of  mayors  by  municipal  councils,  purchase  of  all  railroads 
by  the  state,  and  free  and  compulsory  primary  education  by  lay 
teachers.  This  last  measure  was  aimed  at  the  church.  Ferry,  min- 
ister of  public  instruction,  presented  in  1880  a  measure  relating  to 
Catholic  universities,  the  seventh  article  of  which  forbade  members 
of  unauthorized  religious  orders  to  teach  in  secondary  schools. 
Wh.en  th.e  bill  reached  the  senate,  more  conservative  than  the  cham- 
ber, this  article  was  struck  out.  The  government  called  out  of 
abeyance  certain  old  laws  against  "  unauthorized  congregations," 
and  ordered  all  such  bodies  to  disperse.  When  they  refused  to 
obey  they  were  expelled  by  force. 

From  1880  to  1886  several  important  measures  that  served 
to  strengthen  the  republic  were  passed.  Education  was  rendered 
compulsory,  free  and  by  lay  teachers ;  complete  freedom  of  the  press 
and  complete  liberty  of  public  meeting  were  established.  In  1884 
a  partial  revision  of  the  constitution  abolishing  the  life  members 
in  the  senate  was  agreed  to  by  that  body.  As  vacancies  occurred  in 
the  senate  they  w^ere  to'  be  filled  by  the  election  of  senators  for  the 
nine-year  term,  the  election  to  be  by  departments.  Measures  that 
for  some  time  had  been  demanded  by  the  radicals — amnesty  for  the 
proscribed  communists  and  the  removal  of  conservative  judges — 
were  passed  during  this  period.  After  the  elections  of  1881  the 
republican  majorities  were  so  large  both  in  the  senate  and  the  cham- 
ber that  the  conservative  party  gave  up  the  political  contest.  It  was 
in  this  same  year  that  Gambetta,  who  had  been  president  of  the 
chamber,  was  called  upon  to  fcjrm  a  cabinet.  His  first  mistake  was 
to  compose  his  ministry  from  men  of  his  own  group  and  to  ignore 


T  H  E     T  IT  I  R  D     REPUBLIC  48  !« 

1881-1885 

the  leaders  (if  the  other  groups  composing  the  republican  majority. 
lie  had  already  aroused  the  hostility  of  the  extreme  left  by  his 
lordly  bearing,  his  authoritative  language,  and  his  practice  of  sur- 
rounding himself  with  his  personal  followers.  When  he  proposed 
to  revise  the  constitution  and  make  the  vote  by  general  ticket  an 
article  of  the  constitution,  the  discontented  of  the  right  and  left, 
moved  probably  more  l)y  personal  sentiment  than  by  sound  reasons, 
united  to  overthrow  him.  Gambetta's  ministry  had  bistcd  from 
November,  1881,  to  Januar}^,  1882.  He  died  in  Decendjcr  of  tlic 
same  year. 

As  time  went  on,  the  majority  of  the  republicans  grew  more 
conservative,  and  even  compromised  upon  many  of  the  reforms  that 
had  constituted  their  original  programme.  A  division  took  place 
in  their  ranks,  the  supporters  of  Gambetta  and  of  a  conservative 
republican  policy  being  dubbed  "  Opportunists  "  by  tlic  extreme  left, 
to  whom  the  name  "  Radicals  "  was  given.  This  latter  group  had 
adopted  many  of  the  reforms  that  had  been  abandoned  by  tlic 
majority  of  the  republicans.  They  demanded  the  withdrawal  fr:)m 
the  senate  of  the  right  of  voting  the  budget  and  of  dissolving  the 
chamber,  tlie  separation  of  church  and  state,  and  th.c  e.itablislimcnt 
of  an  income  tax.  They  also  op])oscd  the  coloni'Ll  ijnlicy  rcjire- 
sented  by  Jules  Ferry,  the  head  of  one  of  the  longest-lived  cabinets 
that  had  existed  under  the  republic.  Ferry's  p(~>licy  of  forming  a 
new  colonial  empire  for  France  was  little  appreciated,  and  the  oppo- 
sition took  advantage  of  unfavorable  war  news  from  Tonking  to 
force  him  to  resign  (May,  1885). 

In  the  electoral  campaign  of  this  year,  1885,  th.e  opportunists 
were  opposed  by  the  radicals  and  the  conservatives.  The  ques- 
tions at  issue  show  the  changed  nature  of  the  political  contest.  It 
was  no  longer  a  question  of  the  form  of  government,  but  of  policies. 
In  addition  to  its  foreign  or  colonial  policy,  the  financial  policy  of 
the  ministry  was  the  object  of  criticism,  Tlie  yearlv  expendilnrc; 
had  exceeded  the  annual  reveiuies.  The  government  had  m;ule  no 
attempt  to  maintain  a  balanced  budget,  but  had  spent  money  frcelv 
for  railroads,  school  buildings,  and  for  colonial  expeditions.  Tlie 
commercial  crisis  of  1882,  by  decreasing  the  revenue,  rendered  the 
situation  wnr.-;c  thp.n  il  nilicrwise  would  ha\e  been.  The  cop.scrwa- 
tivcs  being  united,  wh.ilc  the  republicans  liad  tv;o  tickets  in  llic  field. 
and  the  use  of  the  general  ticket  for  the  first  time  being  favorable 
to  the  conservatives,  the  government  lost  many  seats. 


484  FRANCE 

1885-1887 

In  the  new  chamber  the  repubHcans  had  a  majority  when 
they  were  united,  and  the  first  pohcy  tried  was  that  of  the  so-called 
"  repubhcan  concentration,"  or  government  by  a  ministry  drawn 
from  all  the  republican  groups.  Such  a  ministry  necessarily  aban- 
doned all  attempts  at  positive  reforms  and  devoted  their  efforts  to 
the  establishment  of  a  balanced  budget  and  the  settling  up  of  the 
Tonking  affair. 

In  December,  1885,  Grevy's  first  term  expired  and  he  was  re- 
elected for  a  second  term  of  seven  years.  During  the  first  year  of 
his  new  term  the  man  sprang  into  public  notice  who  was  to  gather 
a  motley  party  about  him  and  for  a  short  time  terrify  France  with 
the  specter  of  a  military  dictatorship.  Boulanger  was  simply  a 
military  adventurer  and  an  unscrupulous  politician.  The  party 
opposed  to  Ferry's  colonial  policy,  who  called  themselves  the 
"  patriots,"  because  they  wanted  a  war  for  revenge  with  Germany 
to  recover  Alsace-Lorraine,  had  taken  him  up.  In  1886  the  radi- 
cals made  Boulanger  minister  of  war,  but  he  was  dismissed  with 
the  return  of  the  opportunists  to  power  in  the  same  year  (1886). 
This  party  continued  its  agitation  during  the  two  succeeding  years, 
and  finally  during  the  Wilson  scandal  and  the  forced  resignation 
of  Grevy  the  attempt  was  made  by  the  patriots  to  fish  in  troubled 
waters.  Wilson,  the  son-in-law  '  of  the  president,  was  found 
guilty  of  trafficking  in  ofiFices  and  in  the  decorations  of  the  Legion 
of  Honor.  Grevy  was  slow  to  see  the  bearing  of  the  revelation, 
and  did  not  abandon  Wilson.  The  chamber  forced  Grevy  to  re- 
sign, and  his  second  presidency  came  to  a  lamentable  end. 

During  the  days  of  indecision,  while  Grevy  wavered  and  the 
question  of  his  successor  was  being  agitated,  the  "patriots"  en- 
deavored to  retain  Grevy  in  office,  fearful  of  the  man  fixed  upon 
as  his  successor, — Jules'  Ferry, — and  were  untiring  in  their  efforts 
to  arouse  a  public  demonstration  in  Paris  in  favor  of  Boulanger. 
When  Grevy  finally  did  resign,  it  was  found  impossible  to  elect 
Ferry.  It  is  true  that  he  had  the  support  of  the  majority  in  the  two 
chambers,  but  the  threats  of  the  radicals  and  the  announcement  of 
the  city  council  that  they  would  not  be  responsible  for  order  if  he 
were  elected,  made  the  choice  of  another  candidate  imperative. 
The  choice  fell  upon  Carnot.  Immediately  after  the  election  of  the 
president  tlic  temporary  union  between  the  patriots  and  the  radicals 
came  to  an  end ;  the  latter  favored  revision,  the  former  were  op- 
posed to  parliamentary  government.     They  wished  to  dissolve  the 


THE     THIRD     REPUBLIC  485 

1887-1889 

present  chambers  and  form  a  g-overnment  after  the  model  of  the 
repubhc  of  1848,  with  a  president  and  a  single  chamber,  each  re- 
sponsible to  the  people. 

The  followers  of  Boulanger  took  the  name  of  "  Nationalists  " 
or  "  Revisionists."  Their  rallying-  cry  w-as  "  Dissolution,  revision, 
constituent  assembly."  The  main  thing  was  to  place  General 
Boulanger  in  power,  the  rest  would  follow.  They  appealed  to  the 
conservatives  and  the  Catholics,  who  joined  with  them  to  destroy 
the  constitution.  Money  for  the  campaign  was  supplied  by  tlie 
Count  of  Paris  and  the  Duchess  of  Uzes,  .and  the  campaign  was 
"  promoted  by  advertising  devices  similar  to  those  used  in  com- 
merce; reams  of  posters,  portraits  and  biographies  of  General 
Boulanger,  songs  in  his  j)niise.  crowds  hired  to  shout  '  J'iz'C  Ir 
General  Boulanger! '  "  Boulanger  conducted  himself  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  he  was  excluded  from  the  army.  lie  thereupon  managed 
his  campaign  openly.  Badly  received  in  the  chamber  to  wliich  he 
had  been  elected,  he  set  himself  the  task  of  obtaining  from  the 
country  at  large  a  plebiscite  in  his  favor.  Whenever  a  vacancy 
occurred  in  the  chamber  demanding  an  election.  Boulanger  appeared 
as  a  candidate,  and,  as  on  the  general  ticket  the  whole  departiuent 
was  obliged  to  vote  to  fill  every  vacancy,  the  demonstration  was 
not  insignificant.  At  an  election  in  Paris  in  January,  1889,  he  re- 
ceived 240,000  votes  against  165,000.  Great  things  were  ex])ccted 
from  the  general  election  of  1889.  The  alarm  was  widesj)rcad 
throughout  France.  Abroad,  publicists  freely  predicted  that  the 
third  republic  would  not  outlive  the  centenary  of  the  revolution. 
The  outcome  offered  but  another  proof  of  tlie  fallability  of  human 
judgment.  Before  the  elections  took  place  the  government  abol- 
ished the  general  ticket  and  made  it  unlawful  for  a  person  to 
present  himself  as  candidate  in  more  than  one  district.  This  act 
was  followcfl  by  a  summons  to  Boulanger  and  his  fellow-conspira- 
tors to  present  themsehes  before  the  senate,  constituted  as  a  In'gh 
court  for  the  trial  f)f  (jffenses  against  the  state.  Boulanger  escaj^ed 
in  disguise  into  IkMgium,  followed  by  the  laughter  (vf  his  countrv- 
men.  The  tragedy  had  been  transformed  into  a  comedv.  Men 
breathed  freely  once  more,  forgot  their  past  fears,  and  even  won- 
dered if  the  danger  ever  had  been  real.  The  exposition  of  1889 
soon  consigned  the  Boulanger  incident  to  forget  fulness. 

The  grouj^ing  of  parties  to-day  in  the  chamber  has  little  in 
common  with  that  of  fifty  years  ago.     in  1893  a  new  party  made 


486  FRANCE 

1879-1906 

its  appearance,  occupying  the  extreme  left.  It  was  the  party  of  the 
socialists,  representing  the  new  demands  of  the  working  classes. 
The  old  cnnscrxatives  have  practically  disappeared.  The  riglit  in 
the  assemljly  lias  joined  the  moderates,  forming  a  party  of  social 
conservatism  resting  on  the  middle  and  capitalist  class,  the  clergy, 
and  the  office-holders.  The  socialists  and  the  radicals  form  a  party 
of  social  reform  and  appeal  to  the  masses.  At  present  the  latter 
party  controls  the  government.  The  attempts  of  the  nationalists, 
the  successors  of  the  supporters  of  Boulanger,  aided  by  the  clerical 
orders,  to  overthrow  the  republic  at  the  time  of  the  Dreyfus  affair, 
resulted  in  failure.  The  campaign  recently  carried  on  by  the 
radicals  and  socialists  against  the  congregations  is  the  outcome  of 
that  affair,  but  only  an  incident  in  the  long  struggle  that  the  republic 
has  ever  prosecuted  against  the  church.  The  law  of  1901  abolished 
all  unauthorized  congregations.  Although  Waldeck-Rousseau  re- 
signed before  the  measures  to  enforce  the  law^  had  been  carried 
out,  his  successor,  Combes,  adopted  his  policy,  and  in  his  vigorous 
action  against  the  Catholic  orders  received  the  consistent  support 
of  tlie  radical  and  socialist  deputies.  A  general  election  in  1902 
had  shown  that  the  majority  of  the  electors  were  in  sympathy  with 
the  policy  of  the  government.  In  this  same  year  several  proposi- 
tions looking  to  the  separation  of  church  and  state  were  laid  before 
the  chamber  of  deputies,  and  later  a  commission  was  selected  to 
receive  and  examine  all  such  propositions.  It  was  not,  however, 
until  the  break  with  the  Vatican  that  the  government  took  any 
action  in  the  matter.  The  protest  of  the  Papal  secretary  at  the 
time  of  President  Loubet's  visit  to  Rome  led  to  the  recall  of 
the  Frencli  ambassador  accredited  to  the  Papal  government;  the 
strife  arising  over  the  interference  of  the  Pope  in  the  bishoprics 
of  Laval  and  Dijon  produced  the  final  rupture  between  the  French 
government  and  tlie  Pope.  In  the  same  year  (1904)  Combes  laid 
lie  fore  the  chamber  a  project  for  the  separation  of  church  and  state. 
It  was  not  sufikicntly  radical  to  satisfy  the  majority.  Combes 
fell  and  -wrts  succeeded  by  Rouvier,  who  brought  in  a  measure  that 
passed  the  assembly  July  3,  1905.  It  w^as  favorably  passed  upon 
by  the  committee  of  the  senate  and  on  December  9  became  a  law'  by 
a  vole  of  i(Si  to  102.  Its  final  adoption  and  execution  led  to  the 
complete  secularization  of  the  state  and  formed  an  epoch  in  the 
religious  liistorv  of  France. 

On  January    17,   1906,  on   the   expiration   of   President   Loubet's 


T  TT  1'^     T  11  T  Pv  1)     II  !■:  V  I'  B  L  1  C  4b7 

1879-1909 

term  of  nffico,  M.  Arniaml  I\illicrcs  \va<  clcclod  president  <«f  the 
rcpiihllc.  Cht  Jaimarv  2,  ]')0'/,  President  l'"allicres  si,L;'ned  a  -nj^jde- 
nicntary  act  to  the  Se[)arati(>n  Law  of  1905,  wliieh  i)rnvided  that 
the  building's  for  public  worship,  loi^fihcr  with  their  furniture, 
should  continue  at  the  disposition  of  the  ministers  of  religion  and 
the  \vorshipj:)ers  for  the  exercise  of  their  religion;  but  in  each  case 
there  is  recpiired  an  administrative  act  drawn  by  the  prcjcct  as  re- 
gards buildings  belonging  to  the  state  or  the  tle})artments,  and  by 
the  inairc  as  regards  buildings  belonging  to  the  communes. 

In  Alarch,  1907,  there  was  a  strike  in  the  Paris  electric-lights 
works  caused  by  a  proposal  to  reduce  the  pensions  of  employes 
on  retirement.  The  matter  was  cjuickly  adjusted.  An  important 
issue  was  raised  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  by  the  assertion  of 
the  Socialists  that  public  servants  had  the  right  to  form  trade- 
unions;  the  government  denied  this,  and  when  the  question  Vvas 
put  to  the  vote  the  result  was  a  large  majority  for  the  govern- 
ment. An  important  industrial  disturbance  of  1907  was  the  ri(~)ts 
among  the  \vine-growers  of  southern  b>ance.  They  demanded 
that  the  government  take  some  action  against  the  adulteration  of 
wine,  and  on  June  22,  1907,  the  Wine  Fraud  Act  was  passed. 

The  chief  bills  before  the  parliament  in  1908  were:  (i)  The 
Income  Tax  Bill,  on  which  no  agreement  was  reached ;  (2)  the 
Old  Age  I*ensions  ]jill,  which  also  failed  to  pass  because  of  a  lack 
of  unity;  and  (3)  a  Bill  for  the  Purchase  of  the  Western  Railway, 
which  was  passed  and  became  a  huv  on  July  12. 

General  elections  were  held  in  Prance  on  January  3,  I90().  re- 
sulting in  a  go\ernment  gain  of  fifteen  se:its.  On  Januru-y  9,  it 
was  decided  to  return  to  the  use  of  the  guillotine  for  capital  j'yun- 
ishment,  and  three  murderers  were  executed  1)\-  that  means.  An 
extradition  treat}'  was  also  signed  in  that  month  (januarv  6)  with 
the  United  St.'ites. 

A  general  strike  of  j^x^stal  and  telegraph  employes  in  Paris  was 
called  on  J\larch  15,  1909;  it  spread  rapidly  and  f(ir  more  than  a 
week  the  btisiness  of  the  country  was  upset.  The  immediate  cause 
of  the  trouble  was  the  proclamation  by  the  government  of  a  reg- 
ulation providing  for  a  merit  system  of  i:)romotion  instead  of  the 
old  traditional  system  of  seniority.  Sympathetic  strikes  of  em- 
ployes of  the  postal  and  telephone  services  throughout  the  provinces 
followed,  involving  more  than  50,000  ])crs(~ins.  This  caused  a  tre- 
mendous  congestion   of   mail   matter   at   the   Paris   postoffice,   and 


488  FRANCE 

1879-1909 

prevented  the  receipt  of  news  by  telegraph  or  telephone,  thus  caus- 
ing many  newspapers  to  suspend  publication.  Premier  Clemen- 
ccau  employed  troops  to  deliver  the  mail.  On  March  26,  parlia- 
ment by  a  large  majority  passed  a  vote  of  confidence  in  the  min- 
istry. The  strikers  demanded  the  removal  of  the  Under-Secretary 
of  Posts  and  Telegraphs,  M.  Julien  Simyan,  and  the  right  to  form 
trade-unions.  The  government  officially  declined  to  dismiss  the 
under-secretary,  but  implied  that  he  would  be  shifted  to  another 
department.  The  government  also  refused  to  acknowledge  the 
right  of  state  employes  to  form  trade-unions  or  to  affiliate  with  the 
General  Confederation  of  Labor.  However,  it  did  agree  that  there 
should  be  no  dismissal  of  or  discrimination  against  the  men  who 
had  struck,  and  that  the  soldiers  and  police  occupying  the  post- 
office  should  be  withdrawn.  Immediately  after  this  agreement 
was  made  the  strikers  returned  to  their  duties. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  parliament  was  again  struggling  with 
the  Income  Tax  Bill,  also  known  as  the  Caillaux  Bill,  providing  a 
system  of  taxation  having  as  its  basis  the  income,  those  earned 
being  taxed  less  than  those  derived  from  inherited  or  invested 
capital,  and  aliens  paying  more  than  French  subjects.  This  bill 
was  passed  by  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  on  March  9  by  a  vote  of 
407  to  156. 

On  March  26,  1909,  a  parliamentary  committee  was  appointed 
to  investigate  the  state  of  French  naval  affairs.  They  reported  to 
parliament  on  June  22  that  gross  inefficiency  and  waste  of  money 
had  prevailed.  After  a  long  and  violent  debate  M.  Clemenceau 
and  his  associates  resigned  their  portfolios  on  July  20.  M.  Aristide 
Briand,  who  had  been  chief  aide  to  M.  Clemenceau,  succeeded  to 
the  premiership.  His  ideas  were  almost  identical  with  those  of  his 
predecessor,  and  the  cabinet  change  did  not  in  any  way  effect  the 
I'rench  financial  market. 

At  the  opening  of  the  French  parliament  in  October,  1909, 
two  (|uestions  of  great  import  came  before  it.  The  first  of  these 
related  to  a  declaration  of  the  French  Catholic  Church  urging 
parents  to  keep  their  children  from  the  public  schools  and  to  send 
them  to  the  church  institutions.  Certain  text-books  used  in  the 
state  schools  were  interdicted  by  the  church  authorities  as  im- 
proper for  study  by  Catholic  pupils.  The  other  question  had  to  do 
with  the  manner  of  voting.  Two  electoral  systems  have  figured 
in   French  republican   history,  the  scrutin  dc  liste  and  the  scrutin 


T  II  E     T  II  I  IM)     U  E  V  V  V>\A  C  4S0 

1879-1910 

d'  arrondisscmcnt.  Under  the  first  system  the  voter  casts  his  bal- 
lot for  all  the  deputies  to  which  his  department  is  entitled.  L'nder 
the  second  each  department  is  di\ided  into  arrondissoncnts— or 
single  member  districts— and  each  \oter  \()tes  on!}-  for  the  one 
candidate  of  his  district.  Tlic  scnii'ui  dc  listc  S}stem  was  in  use 
from  1871  to  1876,  the  arroiidissciiiciit  system  i87f)-i8S5,  the  scrulin 
dc  listc  1885-1889  and  the  arroiidissciiwiit  from  1889  to  the  pres- 
ent time. 

Notwithstanding  all  the  laws  tliat  have  been  passed  in  the  last 
quarter  of  a  century,  education  is  not  yet  free  in  I'rance.  Only  a 
few  grades  in  the  public  schools  are  actually  open  to  all.  By  the 
side  of  this  really  free  education,  representing  about  eight  grades, 
stands  another  system,  extending  from  the  primary  school  to  the 
university  and  supported  largely  by  tuition.  About  half,  and  the 
best,  of  these  schools  are  in  the  hands  of  the  teaching  congrega- 
tions of  the  Catholic  Church.  Here,  the  republicans  claim,  the 
young  people  of  I'>ance  are  tilled  with  sentiments  hostile  to  the 
republic.  The  schools  must  be  in  the  hands  of  the  state,  they  claim, 
and  taught  by  lay  teachers.  The  expense  has  been,  in  the  past,  the 
main  obstacle  to  the  development  of  secular  schools.  The  central 
government  did  not  build  all  the  schools  itself,  and  the  cities  and 
communities  throughout  hVance  f()und  it  more  economical  to  allow 
the  congregations  to  build  the  schoolhouses  and  i)ay  the  teachers. 
A  law  of  July  7,  1904,  decided  on  the  suppression  of  all  congrega- 
tional teaching  wdthin  a  period  of  ten  years.  Among  the  support- 
ers of  these  measures  were  men  hostile  to  the  church  and  to  re- 
ligion, but  the  majority  were  not  influenced  l)y  such  a  policy. 
Whether  the  schools  can  be  secularized  remains  to  be  seen.  The 
republic  is  nearly  half  of  a  century  old,  and  though  there  are  still 
those  w^ho  declare  that  France  will  be  happy  only  under  a  Ca:?sar, 
there  are  others  who  believe  that  the  rci)ublic  has  a  bright  future. 

While  the  republic  w^as  being  established,  I'rance  was  strix'ing 
to  recover  the  prestige  in  Europe  that  she  had  lost  as  a  result  of  tlie 
Franco-Prussian  war.  At  the  close  of  the  war  she  was  isolated, 
and  it  was  the  policy  of  ilismarck  to  keep  her  so.  So  long  as  slic 
remained  weak  and  without  allies,  little  was  to  be  feared  from  Ium- 
threats  of  revenge  for  the  loss  of  Alsace-Lorraine.  In  1875  the 
reorganization  and  enlargement  of  the  I'^rench  annv  was  looked 
upon  by  Bismarck  as  a  threat  to  Germany,  and  a  warning  was  sent 
to  Paris.     The  countries  seemed  on  the  verge  of  war,  this  time 


490  FRANCE 

1871-1891 

France  being  on  the  defensive.  The  interference  of  Russia  in  be- 
half of  France  quieted  the  rising  storm,  and  was  the  first  indication 
of  the  rapprochement  that  was  to  end  in  the  Dual  Alhance.  Many 
years  were  to  pass,  however,  before  this  alhance  took  shape. 

The  republic  gave  proofs  of  vitality  in  its  foreign  relations  by 
the  adoption  of  colonial  policy  that,  although  lacking  consistency 
and  wisdom  at  first,  has  made  of  her  at  length  a  great  colonial 
state.  Tunis  was  brought  under  French  domination  in  i88i,  but 
in  1882  France  abandoned  Egypt  to  England  by  refusing  to  con- 
trol the  Egyptian  government  by  an  appeal  to  arms.  Had  Gam- 
betta  remained  in  office,  it  is  doubtful  if  France  would  have  com- 
mitted such  a  blunder.  In  China,  France  had  begun  to  acquire 
territory  under  the  second  empire,  and  the  same  policy  was  fol- 
lowed in  the  East  during  the  ministry  of  Ferry,  resulting  in  the 
acquisition  of  Tonking,  and  later  of  contiguous  territory.  In 
Africa,  France  has  steadily  increased  its  acquisitions,  until  the 
Sahara  and  the  most  of  the  surrounding  coast  territory  are  now  in 
its  possession.  Perhaps  none  of  the  colonizing  countries  of  Europe 
have  lands  more  desirably  located  than  the  French  possessions 
in  northern  Africa.  It  is  here,  in  truth,  that  France  had  done  its 
colonizing.  From  Marseilles  to  Algiers  is  but  a  short  sea  voyage, 
and  soon  railroads  will  connect  Algeria  with  all  parts  of  the 
French  territory.  The  other  colonies  are  less  promising,  because 
too  remote  from  the  mother  country.  In  these  remote  colonies 
the  number  of  Frenchmen  outside  of  office-holders  and  soldiers 
is  very  small.  The  almost  stationary  population  of  France  does 
not  supply  it  with  the  increase  necessary  to  people  these  posses- 
sions over  sea.  It  is  noticeable,  however,  that  the  excess  of  births 
over  deaths  is  much  greater  in  Algeria  than  in  France. 

The  formation  of  the  Triple  Alliance  of  German}^,  Austria, 
and  Italy,  the  hostility  towards  Germany  on  the  Rhine,  towards 
England  in  Egypt  and  Asia,  towards  Italy  in  Tunis,  naturally  led 
France  to  draw  near  to  Russia  as  the  only  ally  that  could  save 
her  from  the  isolation  into  which  she  had  been  forced.  Nowhere 
did  their  interests  conflict,  and  they  were  the  common  rivals  of 
England,  but  in  different  parts  of  the  world.  In  1891  the  Czar 
made  open  advances  to  France;  a  French  squadron  was  received 
with  great  solemnity  at  Kronstadt,  and  the  Czar  sent  a  telegram 
to  the  President  of  the  Republic,  in  which  he  spoke  of  "the  pro- 
found sympathies  that  unite  France  and  Russia."    A  Russian  loan 


T II  !•:    Tin  K  n    k  e  p  i'  n  l  i  c  4i)i 

1879 1908 

was  opened  in  France  and  covered  hy  French  subscribers,  and  in 
1893  a  Russian  scjuadron  was  received  at  1'imlon  and  sent  a  de- 
tachment of  sailors  to  I'aris.  iMnall}^  in  1896,  Nicholas  II  i)ai(l 
a  visit  to  the  F'rcnch  capital,  and  was  received  with  tremendous 
enthusiasm.  l"'or  a  time  the  affairs  of  Euroj^e  were  dominated  by 
the  opposition  between  the  Triple  and  the  Dual  Alliances, 

But  with  the  new  century  there  were  changes.  The  question 
of  Alsace-Lorraine  ceased  to  dominate  French  diplomacy.  French 
troops  served  under  a  German  field  marshal  in  China  (1900)  ; 
France  and  Germany  united  with  Russia  in  forcing  Japan  to  sur- 
render the  fruits  of  the  war  with  China  (1895).  France  made  an 
arbitration  treaty  with  Italy  and  endeavored  to  settle  with  it  in  a 
friendly  way  the  interests  of  the  two  countries  in  Africa.  France 
also  made  an  arbitration  treaty  with  England,  and  although  Eng- 
land was  allied  with  Japan,  and  Russia  was  suffering  severe  re- 
verses at  the  hands  of  the  island  empire  during  the  late  war,  France 
did  not  feel  bound  to  go  to  its  assistance.  The  overwhelming  de- 
feat of  Russia  by  Japan  modified  the  diplomatic  situation  in  Europe. 
On  June  10,  1907,  a  Franco-Japanese  agreement  was  signed.  The 
attempt  of  France,  in  alliance  with  England,  to  establish  a  protecto- 
rate over  ATorocco  met  with  an  energetic  protest  from  (iermany, 
and  for  a  few  weeks  the  w^ar  clouds  seemed  to  hang  threateningly 
over  Europe.  The  h^rench  ministry  refused,  however,  to  suj)port 
Delcasse  in  a  vigorous  policy  and  forced  him  to  resign  his  portfolio, 
after  long  years  of  brilliant  service.  The  new  policy  is  one  of 
rapprochement  with  Germany.  It  is  a  policy  that  is  prepared  to 
look  upon  the  Alsace-Lorraine  incident  as  closed  and  refuses  to 
be  guided  in  the  future  simply  by  the  desire  for  revenge.  The 
year  1905  marked  a  turning-ixMut  in  the  diplomatic,  as  well  as  in 
the  religious,  history  of  h'rance. 

In  1908,  two  incidents  occurred,  each  of  which  at  the  time 
seemed  likely  to  cause  a  rupture  of  friendly  relations  between  Ger- 
many and  bVaiice.  The  first  of  these  was  Germany's  attitude  in 
the  recognition  of  Mulai  Ilafid  as  Sultan  of  Morocco.  She  de- 
manded that  he  be  recognized  immediately  after  he  had  been  pro- 
claiined  sultan  on  August  23,  while  France  and  Spain  contended 
that  the  initiative  belonged  incontestably  to  them  and  that  the 
new  sultan  should  fulfill  certain  conditions  before  he  should  be 
recognized ;  on  September  23,  Germany  replied  that  she  agreed 
with   the   conditions.     The    second    incident   was    the    Casablanca 


493  FRANCE 

1879-1910 

Affair:  five  (according  to  s')mc  accounts  six)  soldiers  of  the  I'Vench 
Foreign  Legion,  including  three  Germans,  deserted  and  concealed 
themselves  under  the  protection  of  the  German  Consul  at  Casa- 
blanca ;  when  a  German  steamer  came  into  the  port,  the  deserters 
under  escort  from  the  consulate  went  on  board;  French  gendarmes 
after  a  struggle  arrested  them ;  the  German  consul  then  demanded 
the  release  of  the  Germans,  but  the  French  military  authorities  re- 
fused; the  Germans  claimed  that  although  serving  in  the  French 
Foreign  Legion  they  retained  all  their  national  rights  and  priv- 
ileges; the  French  expressed  a  willingness  to  submit  the  matter 
to  The  Hague  Tribunal,  which  was  done. 

A  Franco-German  Agreement  relative  to  Morocco  was  issued 
on  February  9,  1909,  having  been  signed  at  Berlin  on  that  day.  It 
defined  the  scope  given  by  the  two  governments  to  the  various 
clauses  of  the  Algeciras  Convention  and  aimed  to  avoid  future  mis- 
understandings. 

The  meeting  of  Czar  Nicholas  of  Russia  and  President  Fallieres 
at  Cherbourg  on  August  i,  1909,  apparently  strengthened  the 
Franco-Russian  alliance  in  the  direction  of  peace. 

Americans  were  much  interested  in  the  opening  of  the  Amer- 
ican hospital  at  Neuilly,  Paris,  which  occurred  formally  on  Octo- 
ber 28,  1909,  as  they  were  also,  although  from  different  motives, 
in  the  action  of  the  government  with  regard  to  the  tariff  question. 
On  November  i,  1909,  the  government  imposed  the  maximum  tariff 
on  American  goods,  which,  although  their  statesmen  declare  is  not 
intended  to  work  any  serious  changes  in  imports  from  America, 
was  regarded  as  indictive  of  the  country's  feeling  with  regard  to 
the  tariff  bill  of  the  United  States.  On  December  29,  of  this 
same  year,  the  French  Chamber  of  Deputies  passed  a  high  pro- 
tective tariff  of  their  own,  although  it  is  not  probable  that  the 
I'rench  Senate  can  reach  it  in  time  to  let  the  law^  go  into  opera- 
tion before  191 1.  New  interest  in  labor  circles  was  awakened  by 
the  resolution  of  the  French  State  employes  on  November  26, 
to  form  a  national  federation.  During  January,  the  French  minister 
made  a  spirited  reply  to  certain  attacks  brought  by  the  Catholic 
deputies  against  the  system  of  education  promulgated  by  the  gov- 
ernment, speaking  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies. 

The  most  serious  event  of  past  years  in  France,  however,  is 
the  terrible  flood  of  1910,  which  threatened  the  entire  city,  and  did 
not   begin   to  subside   until    the   end   of  January.     The    Palace   of 


T  H  E     T  II  I  H  I)     li  E  P  U  n  L  I  C  492a 

1879-1910 

Legion  of  Honor,  the  St.  Lazare  Station,  the  Palace  Bourbon, 
Hotel  Lambert  and  Hotel  Lauzan,  the  Esplanade  Des  Invalided, 
the  Luxembourg  Garden,  the  Champs  Elysccs,  the  Place  de  la  Con- 
corde, the  Isle  St.  Louis  and  Isle  de  la  Cite,  the  Palace  de  CJlace, 
the  Palace  de  L'Opera,  the  Comedie  Fraiicaise,  the  Tuillcrics 
Gardens,  the  Louvre  and  Aluseum,  the  Institute  Des  Beaux  Art-, 
the  Mazarin  Palace,  the  Bois  de  Boulogne,  the  Grand  and  Petit 
Palaces  and  many  other  buildings  of  national  importance  and  his- 
torical association  were  threatened  with  destruction.  The  area 
covered  by  the  flood,  irrespective  of  the  overflow  in  the  back  streets 
from  sewers,  comprised  nine  square  miles,  or  one-fourth  of  the 
entire  city.  The  destitution  was  pitiable,  and  oft'crs  of  liclp  were 
tendered  from  all  the  other  countries,  who  many  of  them  had  rea- 
son to  remember  similar  generosity  in  past  calamities. 

The  internal  development  of  bVance  during  the  last  forty  years 
is  even  more  noteworthy  than  its  foreign  policy.  The  crushing 
defeat  of  1870  had  a  wholesc^ne  efi^ect,  and  the  energy  that  was 
freed  at  that  time  has  not  exhausted  itself  in  the  reconstruction 
of  the  political  structure  of  French  society.  Looked  at  from  every 
point  of  view,  the  social  efficiency  of  the  French  people  has  in- 
creased enormously.  No  nation  surpasses  it  in  the  care  for  the 
soil  and  in  the  industries  connected  with  it.  France  can  boast 
of  more  than  sixteen  million  acres  in  v^heat ;  the  annual  output 
of  its  vineyards  is  valued  at  fifty  million  dollars;  its  herds  of  cattle 
and  its  fowd  have  increased  one-third  in  numbers  in  a  score  of 
years;  two  million  and  a  half  of  hives  are  scattered  among  the 
farms  of  France;  it  has  given  an  cxam])le  to  tb.e  world  in  afl'orcsta- 
tion  and  draining,  and  the  department  of  forestry  received  close  to 
five  million  dollars  a  year  from   the  wood  alone. 

In  science  and  invention,  the  record  is  no  less  creditable. 
France  has  led  the  world  in  the  invention,  manufacture  and  use 
of  automobiles,  of  submarine  boats,  and  of  mobile  heavy  field 
artillery.  The  country  is  covered  with  a  network  of  railroads  whose 
roadbeds,  bridges,  and  tunnels  are  models  of  engineering  skill. 
To  mention  the  Suez  canal  is  to  think  of  He  Lesseps.  The  world 
looks  upon  Pasteur  as  one  of  its  greatest  benefactors. 

The  years  since  the  war  with  Germany  have  been  marked  in 
France  by  an  educational  renaissance.  Secondary  education  has 
been  practically  created.  In  fourteen  years  the  number  of  children 
in  the  public  schools  has  doubled.     The  University  of  Paris  has 


4U2b  FRANCE 

1879-1910 

been  reorganized,  and  for  the  first  time  rival  universities  are  being 
developed  in  the  provinces,  many  of  them  possessing  important 
local  educational  characteristics.  There  are  signs  not  a  few  that 
the  leadership  in  historical  writing  is  passing  from  Germany  to 
France.  The  best  general  history  of  Europe  that  exists  is  the  work 
of  French  scholars,  and  a  group  of  young  French  writers  under 
the  leadership  of  Lavisse  are  producing  a  history  of  France  such 
as  German  scholars  have  not  yet  produced  for  their  country. 

France  is  still  the  artistic  nation  par  excellence.  In  literature, 
painting,  sculpture,  and  architecture  she  stands  without  a  peer. 
The  artistic  spirit  permeates  the  whole  life  of  the  people,  and 
whatever  their  deft  fingers  touch  is  thereby  transformed.  It  is 
not  without  reason  that  the  young  artists  and  architects  of  Amer- 
ica fdl  the  studios  of  Paris,  or  that  Virot  and  Worth  dictate  to 
the  women  of  the  world  the  shape  of  their  hats  and  the  style  of 
their  gowns.  The  dictatorship  is  theirs  by  the  right  of  superior 
merit,  of  the  merit  of  genius.  There  is  nothing  to  indicate  that 
that  artistic  primacy  is  about  to  pass  from  France. 

The  world  has  changed  much  since  the  days  when  the  legions 
of  Caesar  conquered  Gaul  and  made  it  a  part  of  the  civilized  world. 
The  Roman  empire  has  disappeared ;  the  primacy  of  the  world  has 
passed  from  Rome;  the  center  of  the  world  is  no  longer  the  inland 
sea  that  receives  the  waters  of  the  Tiber.  A  w^orld  civilization  has 
come  into  existence  embracing  continents,  oceans,  and  peoples, 
and  dwarfing  in  its  magnitude  the  civilization  of  the  olden  time. 
States  have  been  formed  outstripping  the  empire  of  Rome  in 
area  and  in  population,  and  possessing  a  social  unity  such  as  Rome 
never  dreamed  of.  In  this  world-society  it  is  hardly  probable 
that  France  will  be  able  to  play  the  dominating  role  that  she 
played  in  Europe  under  Louis  XIV.  and  Napoleon.  Extent  of 
territory,  natural  resources,  population,  and  native  energy  are  the 
conditions  upon  which  world  leadership  must  rest,  and  in  these 
things  France  is  unable  to  compete  with  several  of  the  great 
world  powers.  Her  leadership  must  be  of  another  kind,  and  one, 
on  the  whole,  that  has  a  more  lasting  value.  The  future  may  sec 
France  fall  to  the  place  of  a  second-rate  power,  her  armies  and 
navies  surpassed  in  numbers  by  those  of  England,  Russia,  Ger- 
many, and  the  United  States,  but  this  relative  loss  in  political 
pov,-er  need  in  no  way  diminish  her  primacy  in  all  those  things 
that  in  tlie  jjast  have  made  France  truly  great.     In  the  world  of 


^r  II  K    T  II  I  K  I)    K  K  I'  r  r>  i,  i  c         4y2c 

1897-1910 

literature,  art,  science,  and  philosophy  she  may  continue  to  play 
the  part  in  tlic  society  of  tlic  future  that  Greece  played  in  the 
world  of  the  Mediterranean  basin. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


A  knowledge  of  the  Frcncli  language  is  indispciisalile  to  one  who  would  make 
something  more  than  a  general  stndy  of  French  history.  The  complete  histories 
of  r"rance  translated  into  luiglish  are  more  or  less  anti(iiiated,  and  the  histories 
written  originally  in  English  never  were  satisfactory.  So  much  has  heen  written 
on  French  history  during  the  last  thirty  years  that  it  might  fairly  he  said  that 
our  conception  of  the  history  of  that  country  has  heen  transformed.  Great  masses 
of  historical  material  have  heen  hrought  to  light  and  utilized  for  the  first  time; 
thousands  of  monographs  have  been  written  dealing  in  the  most  minute  way  with 
the  various  periods  of  French  history,  and  at  the  present  moment,  under  the 
direction  of  M.  Lavissc,  a  history  of  r'rance  from  the  earliest  times  to  the  Revolu- 
tion is  being  publislied.  Tt  is  to  consist  of  sixteen  vohuTies,  and  already  more 
than  half  the  number  have  appeared.  It  supersedes  all  the  other  histories  of 
France  that  have  been  written,  although  for  the  Middle  Ages  Michelet's  work 
Vv'ill  still  be  worth  reading  because  of  its  brilliant  synthesis.  It  is  not  likely  that 
this  large  history  will  be  translated  into  English;  it  would  hardly  pay.  The  value 
of  the  histories  of  France  in  English  has  been  profoundly  affected  by  its  appear- 
ance even  more  than  that  of  the  older  b'rench  histories.  One  can  feel  pretty  cer- 
tain in  reading  any  of  the  liistorics  in  iLiiglish  written  twenty-five  years  ago,  that 
he  is  not  getting  the  last  word  of  t';c  liistorian  upon  any  period  that  he  studies. 
What  is  said  of  the  secondary  works  does  not,  of  course,  apply  to  the  sources  of 
French  history  accessible  in  English  translation.  The  absolute  value  of  a  source 
never  changes,  and  a  library  made  up  of  sources  increases  rather  than  decreases 
in  value.  The  young  student  of  history,  engaged  in  collecting  a  library,  would 
do  well  never  to  lose  sight  of  this  fact.  Monod's  "  Bibliographie  de  I'histoirc 
de  France''  Paris,  j888,  offers  an  excellent  bibliography,  but,  of  course,  goes 
only  to  1879.  At  the  time  of  its  publication  it  was  very  complete,  but  needs 
to  be  supplemented  to-day  by  the  bibliographies  in  the  different  volumes  of 
Lavisse's  "  Ilisfoire  dc  France."  Vor  the  contemporary  otitput  on  modern 
French  history,  a  very  exhaustive  b;l)liography  is  published  annually  by  the 
Revue  d'histoirc  rnudcrne  et  contcuiporahie  under  the  title,  "  Repertoire 
methodiqiie  de  I'Jiistoire  nindcnw  et  contcinpora'uie  de  la  France." 


GENl'LRAL    HISTORIES 

Kitchin,  G.  W. — ''A  History  of  France."    3  vols.    Third  edition,  revised.    Oxford, 
1892. 

This  work  is  considered  the  best  history  of  France  in  English.     It  goes  to 
1789.      Dealing  chiefly  with  political   history,   it   is   defective   on  the   side  of   the 
economic,    industrial,    and    artistic    development    of    I'rance.      To    one    acquainted 
with   the  history   of  Lavisse   it   leaxcs  much   to   be   desired. 
Crowe,   I'l    ]■". — "The    History  of  France."    5   vols.     Loudon,    i858-l8(j>8. 

A  good  piece  of  v.ork  in  its  day,  but  like  most  of  the  histories  written  forty 
years  ago  it  is  antiquatjd  in  many  parts. 

i9,5 


496  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Guizot,  F.— "A  Popular  History  of  France." 

In  various  editions.     One  of  the  best  known  histories  of  France  in  English, 
but  a  very  unreliable  piece  of  work,  although  a  very  readable  one.     It  cannot  be 
regarded  as  anything  more  than  a  "  popular  "  history. 
Duruy,  V. — "  History  of  France."     New  York,  1896. 

Probably  the  best  short  work  in  English  on  I-Vench  history,  although  needing 
to  be  controlled  by  recent  French  histories. 
Adams,  G.  B. — "  The  Growth  of  the  French  Nation." 

An  excellent  short  sketch  of  the  political  history  of  France. 
Hassall,  A. — "  The  French  People."     New  York,  1901. 

An  excellent  short  sketch  of  the  political  history  of  France,  more  detailed 
than  the  preceding  account. 
Lacombe,   Paul. — "  A   Short   Plistory  of  the   French   People."    New   York,   1875. 

A  brief,  popular,  but  good  account  of  the  formation  of  institutions  in  France 
up  to  the  eve  of  the  Revolution. 
Jervis,  W.  H. — "  The  History  of  France."     New  York,  1862. 

Based  largely  on  Martin  and,  consequently,  like  all  the  older  histories,  now 
out  of  date. 

Lavisse,    E. — "  Ilistoirc    de    France    dcpiiis    Ics    origincs    jusq'd    la    revolution." 
Paris,  1900. 

The  importance  of  the  work,  now  in  course  of  publication,  has  been 
emphasized  above. 

WORKS  ON  SPECIAL  PERIODS 

Baird,  Henry  M. — "  History  of  the  Rise  of  the  Huguenots  of  France."    2  vols. 
New  York,  1879. 

A  scholarly  piece  of  work,  tlie  best  in  English  on  the  subject. 
Belloc,  H. — "  Robespierre.     A   Study."     New  York,    1901. 

Brilliant,  but  not  sound. 
• ^"Danton."     New  York,  1899. 

Better  than  the  later  work,  but  still  somewhat  too  imaginative  for  a  histori- 
cal contribution. 
Bodley,  J.  E.  C. — "  France."    2  vols,  1898. 

In  spite  of  the  thesis  that  Mr.  Bodley  feels  compelled  to  defend, — namely, 
that  parliamentary  government  is  a  failure  in  France  and  that  France  will  never 
be  happy  until  it  falls  under  the  rule  of  a  Ccesar, — his  work  is  well  worth  reading. 
Seven  years  of  residence  in  France  preceded  the  writing  of  these  volumes,  and 
one  linds  here  matter  that  can  be  found  nowhere  else  in  English.  One  often 
wishes  that  he  discussed  less -and  described  more.  The  two  volumes  are  devoted 
to  the  treatment  of  the  central  government  in  France. 

Carlyle,  Thomas. — "  The  French   Revolution."     Fletcher,   editor.     3  vols.     New 
York,  1902. 

This  work  is  more  properly  classed  as  literature  than  as  history.  "  Carlyle's 
Impressions  of  the  French  Revolution  "  would  be  a  more  correct  title  for  it.  The 
volumes  have  been  carefully  edited  by  Mr.  Fletcher,  and  the  reader  may  now 
enjoy  his  Carlyle  and  at  the  same  time  get  some  reliable  information  concerning 
the  French  Revolution. 
Farmer,  J.  E.— "  Essays  on  French  History."     New  York,  1897. 

Contains  two  essays:  "The  Rise  of  the  Reformation  in  France"  and  "The 
Club  of  the  Jacobins."  These  papers  are  semi-scientific  presentations  of  the  sub- 
jects treated.     A  thoroughly  satisfactory  treatment  of  the   Breton   Club  will  be 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  497 

found  in  the  monograph  by  Dr.   Charles  Kuhlmann,  "  Influence  of  the  Rrcton 

Deputation  and  the  Breton  Chib  in  the  French  Revohition,"  Lincohi,  Nebraska, 

1903. 

Fournier,  August. — "  Napoleon  the  First."     New  York,  1903. 

Translated    from    the    tliree    volume    German    work.       The    best    volume    in 
English  and  the  best  life  that  has  yet  been  written.     It  contains  a  very  full  bib- 
liography. 
Gardiner,  Bertha  AI. — "The  French  Revolution."'     London,  iSgo. 

One  of  the  '"  Fpochs  of  Modern  History."  Brief,  but  well  written  and 
sound. 

Godwin,  Parke. — "The  Ilistorv  of  P'rancc."     Vol.  i.  Ancient  Gaul.     New  York, 
i860. 

This  volume  carries  the  history  of  France  to  843.     Although  an  old  book,  it 
is  based  upon  the  sources  and  is  still  the  best  vohnne  in  ]Cngli>h  on  the  period. 
Grant,  A.  J. — "The  French  Monarchy"    (1483-1789).     2  vols.   Cambridge,   1900. 

A  work  intended  for  the  general  public.  It  forms  a  part  of  the  "  Cambridge 
Historical  Series."      A  good  sketch. 

Hanotaux,   G. — "  Contemporary   France."     Translated    from   the   French.      New 
York,  1903. 

The  work  is  to  consist  of  four  volumes  when  complete.  Only  one  has  ap- 
peared. It  deals  in  a  popular  way  with  the  history  of  tlie  third  repuljlic.  Al- 
though not  intended  for  scholars,  it  is  the  work  of  a  man  who  has  already  made 
a  reputation  by  his  history  of  Richelieu,  and  is  well  known  as  a  former  minister 
of  foreign  affairs. 
Hassall,  Arthur. — "  Louis  XIV."     New  York,  1R95. 

Good  short  sketch. 
Hazen,   C.   D. — ■"  Contemporary   American    Opinion   of   the    French   Revolution." 
Baltimore. 

From  1784  to  1794  the  United  States  was  represented  in  France  by  Jefferson, 
Morris,  and  INIonroe.     Dr.  llazen  shows  tlic  impression  that  the  Revolution  made 
upon  them,  by  drawing  from  their  journals  and  letters.      Much  of  this  material 
is  quoted  verbatim. 
Hodgkin,  T. — "  Charles  the  Great."     New  York. 

Best  short  account  in  English. 
Plolst,  H.  von. — "  The  French  Revolution  Tested  by  Mirabeau's  Career."     2  vols. 
Chicago,  1894. 

A  series  of  lectures  delivered  before  the  Lowell  Institute  in  Boston.     Dr.  von 
Hoist  had  been    for   some   years   a   lecturer   up^m   the   French    Revolution   and   a 
serious  student  of  Mirabeau's  career.     It  is  the  best  account  in  luiglisli  of  Mira- 
beau  and  the  National  Assembly. 
Jerrold,  Blanchard. — '' 'i'he  Life  of  Napoleon  III."    4  vols,  London,  1S71-1874. 

A  history  written  by  a  contemi)orary,  who  drew  his  information  from  "  state 
records,  from  unpublished  family  correspondence,  and  from  jiersonal  testimony." 
Jerrold  began  to  collect  his  material  soon  after  1852,  and  had  the  active  assistance 
of  the  imperial  family.  Although  sympathetic  toward  the  emperor,  the  work  is 
the  best  in  English  on  this  period. 

Kirk,  John  Foster. — "History  of  Charles  the  Bold."     3  vols.     Philadelphia,  1864- 
1868. 

An  old  but  good  work,  based  upon  the  sources. 
Lamartine,  Alphonse  de. — -"  The  Girondists."     3  vols.  New  York,  1868. 

More  literature  than  history,  the  work  of  a  poet  unable  to  distinguish  be- 
tween fact  and  fancy.    Works  like  those  of  Thiers,  Taine,  Carlyle,  and  Lamartine 


498  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

attract  readers  by  tlie  brilliancy  of  their  style,  and  thus  spread  broadcast  a  dis- 
torted   conception    of    the    Revolution. 

Lowell,   A.   Lawrence. — "Governments   and    Parties   in   Continental    luirope."     2 
vols.     New  York,  1897. 

Two   chapters   in    the    first   volimie    are    devoted    to    the    description    of   the 
political  institutions  and  political  parties  in  the  France  of  to-day.     It  is  a  sound 
piece  of  work. 
Lowell,  Edward  J.—"  The  Eve  of  the  French  Revolution."    New  York,  1892. 

A  very  excellent  account  of  the  state  of  French  society  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  eighteenth  century.    It  rests  upon  very  careful  research  and  is  one  of  the  best 
volumes  that  has  been  written  on  the  subject. 
Lowell,  F.  C. — "  Joan  of  Arc."     Boston,  1897. 

Excellent.     The  best   in   EnglLsh   and   based   upon   a   careful   study   of   the 
sources. 

Mahan,  A.  T. — "  The  Influence  of  Sea  Power  Upon  the  French  Revolution  and 
Empire."     2  vols.     Boston,  1894. 

A  history  of  the  French  navy  from  1793  to  1812,  written  by  a  distinguished 
officer  of  the  United   States  navy  and  president    of    the  United   States   Naval 
College. 
Mathews,  Shailer. — "The  French  Revolution.     A  Sketch." 

One  of  the  best  "sketches"  in  English. 
Michelet,  Jules. — "History  of  the  French  Revolution."     (Bohn  Library.) 

One  of  the  older  histories  of  the  Revolution,  but  written  by  a  man  who  was 
trained  in  research  and  knew  his  sources  as  Thiers  did  not.      Michelet  was  a 
partisan  of  the  Revolution,  and  almost  makes  an  epic  in  prose  of  his  history.     It 
is  a  brilliant  piece  of  writing. 
Mignet,   F.  A. — "  The  French   Revolution."     London,    1868. 

Translated   from   the   French.     Deals   with   the    Revolution    and    Napoleon, 
1789-1815.     Although   an  old  work,  it  is   still  one  of  the  best  volumes  on  the 
Revolution  in  English. 
Morley,  John. — "  Voltaire."     New  York,  1872. 

-'■  Rousseau."     2  vols.     London,  1873. 

"Diderot  and  the  Encyclopaedists."    2  vols.     London,  1878. 

All  of  these  volumes  of  Morley  are  good. 
Perkins,  James  Breck. — "  France  Under  Mazarin."     2  vols.     New  York,  1887. 

An  excellent  work  based  upon  the  best  sources,  some  of  them  manuscript, 
and  the  most  recent  monographs. 
■ "  France  Under  the  Regency."     New  York,  1892. 

A  continuation  of  the  above  vvork  and  equally  valuable. 
"  France  Under  Louis  XV."    2  vols.     New  York,  1897. 

Continuation  of  the  abovp  work. 
• "  Richelieu  and  the  Growth  of  French  Power."     New  York,  1900. 

This  little  volume,  Vvrittcn  for  the  general  public,  has  the  merit  of  being  the 
work  of  a  man  who  knew  his  period  well.     The  same  subject  is  treated  in  the 
volumes  on  "  France  Under  ^Nlazarin." 
Poole,  Reginald  Lane. — "  A  History  of  the  Huguenots  of  the  Dispersion  at  the 

Recall  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes."     London,  1880. 

An  account  of  what  became  of  the  Huguenots  who  left  France  and  what  in- 
fluence they  exerted  in  other  cotmtries.      A  scholarly  work. 
Ranke,  L.  von. — "  Civil  Wars  and  Monarchy  in  France."     New  York,  1854. 

Translation  of  a  portion  of  Ranke's  excellent  work  on  France  in  the  six- 
teenth  and    seventeenth   centuries. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  499 

Remnsat,  Paul  de. — "  Thiers."     Chicago,  1889. 

A    translation    of    a    volume    of    the    series    entitled    "  The     Great     French 
Writers,"  published  in  France.      It  is  an  excellent  sketch  of  Thiers'  life  by  one 
who  knew  him  well. 
Rocquain,  F. — ■"  The  Spirit  of  the  Revolution."     New  York,  1892. 

Translated  from  the  French.  One  of  the  most  important  volumes  on  the 
Revolution  written  in  the  last  century.  Rocquain  shows  the  part  played  by  the 
parlements  in  bringing  on  the  Revolution  and  in  producing  the  crisis  of  1789. 
The  book  is  based  upon  a  large  amount  of  source  material,  some  of  which  had 
never  been  used  before. 
Ropes,  J.  C. — "  The  First  Napoleon."     Boston,  1891. 

Very  much  prejudiced  in  favor  of  Napoleon.      Contains  good  accounts  of 
various  campaigns  and  has  some  good  plans  of  battles. 
Rose,  J.   H. — "  Napoleon."     2  vols.     New  York,   1902. 

The  latest  work  on  Napoleon  in  English  and  one  of  the  best.    Rose  made  use 
of  unpublished  British  sources  that  had  never  been  used  before. 
Rosebery,  Lord. — "  Napoleon,  the  Last  Phase."     New  York,  1901. 

Treats  of  Napoleon  at  St.  Helena,  and  is  the  best  single  volume  that  has 
been  written  upon  the  subject. 
Say,  Leon. — ''  Turgot."     Chicago. 

A  volume  of  "  The  Great  French  Writers,"  by  a  distinguished  French  econ- 
omist. 
Seeley,  J.   R. — "  A   Short  History  of  Napoleon  the  First."     Boston,   1886. 

Although  not  friendly  to  Napoleon,  tliis  is  the  best  sketch  of  the  man  and 
his  work  that  has  ever  been  produced  in  English  in  the  same  compass  (233 
pages). 

Seignobos,  Charles.— "  A  Political  History  of  Europe  since   1814."     New  York, 
1899. 

This  volume  devotes  about  a  hundred  pages  to  the  political  history  of  France 
in  the  nineteenth  century,  and  contains  an  excellent  bibliography. 
Sloane,  W.  M. — "  Life  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte."    4  vols.     New  York.     1896. 

One  of  the  fullest  and  best  lives  of  Napoleon  in  English.     It  appeared  orig- 
inally as  a  serial  in  the  Century,  and  bears  some  of  the  marks  of  its  origin, 
especially   in   the  interesting  but  fanciful   illustrations   that   accompany  it. 
"  The  French  Revolution  and  Religious  Reform."     New  York,   1901. 

This  volume  is  "  based  on  the  Morse  lectures   for   1900  before  the  Union 
Theological    Seminary."     It   is   the   only   book   in   English   that  deals   with   this 
subject,  but  one  could  conceive  of  a  more  helpful  book  in  the  same  compass,  with 
less  discussion  and  more  attention  to  what  actually  took  place. 
Sorel,    Albert. — "  Montesquieu."      Chicago. 

Another  volume  from  the  collection  of  "  The  Great  French  Writers  "  by  one 
of  the  most  brilliant  of  living  French  historians. 
Stephens,   H.   Morse. — "  Revolutionary  Europe,"    1789-1815.     London,   1900. 

A  well  written  and  reliable  sketch. 
"  A  History  of  the  French  Revolution."    2  vols.     New  York,  1886  and  1891. 

This  work  treats  the  period  from  1789  to,  but  not  including,  1794.  The  best 
work  in  English  on  the  Revolution,  but  very  unequal  in  execution  and  in  some 
parts  unreliable. 

Sybel,  Heinrich  von. — "History  of  the  French  Revolution."     4  vols.     London, 
1866- 1868. 

The  title  of  the  German  work  of  which  this  is  a  translation  is  "  History  of  the 
Revolutionary  Period."     It  is  the  history  of  the  Revolution  and  Europe,  or  the 


500  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

diplomatic  history  of  the  period   1789  to   1800.     The  work  is  based  upon  much 
diplomatic  correspondence,  unpublished  at  the  time  Sybel  wrote.      Although  the 
same  subject  has  been  more  fully  treated  by  Sorel  in  the  last  fifteen  years,  Sybel's 
work  is  still  the  best  in  English. 
Taine,  H.  A.—"  The  Revolution."     3  vols.     New  York,  1878-1885. 

A  brilliant  piece  of  work,  reactionary  in  its  character  and  believed  for  a  long 
time,  and  by  many  to-day,  to  contain  the  last  word  on  the  Revolution.  Sober, 
critical  study  of  the  work  has  discredited  both  the  methods  and  the  theses  of 
Taine.  It  should  be  read  after  one  is  sufficiently  familiar  with  the  facts  of  the 
period,  as  presented  in  the  most  recent  histories,  to  be  able  to  control  Taine's 
generalizations. 
Tarbell,  Ida  M. — "  A  Short  Life  of  Napoleon."     New  York,  1895. 

Valuable  on  account  of  its  250  illustrations. 
"  Madame  Roland."    New  York,  1896. 

An  excellent  life,  based  upon  a  careful  study  of  the  sources. 
Thiers,  A. — "  History  of  the  French  Revolution."     5  vols.     London,  1853. 

One  of  the  earliest  histories  of  the  Revolution,  the  first  edition  being  pub- 
lished in  1827,  when  Thiers  was  thirty  years  of  age.  It  has  passed  through  num- 
berless editions  and  is  still  read,  although  as  a  piece  of  historical  writing  it  has 
few  merits  apart  from  the  brilliant  style  in  which  it  is  written. 

"'  History  of  the  Consulate   and  the   Empire   of  France   Under   Napoleon." 

20  vols.    London,  1845- 1862. 

A  translation  of  Thiers'  great  work.      Much  more  carefully  done  than  the 
work  on  the  Revolution,  it  was  for  a  long  time  the  most  important  life  of  Na- 
poleon.    It  needs  to  be  controlled  by  later  and  more  critical  works. 
Tocqueville,  Alexis. — "  France  Before  the  Revolution  of  1789."     London,  1856. 

One  of  the  best  books  ever  written  on  the  causes  of  the  Revolution.     Based 
upon  much  research,  it  is  a  safer  guide  than  the  volume  by  Taine. 
White,  Henry.— "  The  jNIassacre  of  St.  Bartholomew."     New  York,  1871. 

This  volume  covers    the  same  ground  as  that  covered  by  Baird,  the  purpose 
being  to  show  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew  as  the  culmination  of  the  wars 
in  France. 
Willert,   P.   F.— "  Mirabcau."     New   York,    1S98. 

The  best  short  life  in  English. 
"  Henry  of  Navarre."     New  York,  1893. 

Good  short  sketch. 
"The  Reign  of  Louis  the  Eleventh."     London,  1876. 

A  good  brief  account  of  this  reign.  A  popular  work  and  not  a  scientific 
treatise. 

SOURCES 

Anderson,  F.  M. — "  Constitutions  and  Other  Documents  Illustrative  of  the  His- 
tory of  France."     1 789-1900.     University  Book  Store,  Minneapolis,  1903. 
A  very  valuable  collection  of  sources  for  those  who  read  only  English  or  do 
not  have  access  to  the  originals. 
Bingham,  D.   A.—"  A   Selection   from  the  Letters  and  Dispatches  of  the  First 

Napoleon."     3  vols.     London.   1884. 
Bourienne,   Louis. — "  Memoirs  de  Napoleon  Bonaparte."     Translated   from  the 
French.    4  vols.     CrowcU  &  Co.,  New  York. 
These  volumes  are  the  work — to  what  extent  is  not  known,  see  the  intro- 
duction— of  Napoleon's  private  secretary.     As  Napoleon  dismissed  him  in  dis- 
grace, the  record  was  not  made  with  any  kindly  feeling  toward  Napoleon.     The 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  501 

volumes  are  used  by  historians  in  writing  tlie  life  of  Napoleon,  but  always  care- 
fully controlled  by  other  sources. 

Broglie,   Duke   of. — '"The    King's   Secret;    Being   the    Secret   Correspondence   of 
Louis  XV.  with  his  Diplomatic  Agents  from   I75_'  Id   i/J^I." 

This  volume  contains  the  secret  correspondence  concerning  foreign  affairs 
that  the  king  carried  on  for  twenty-two  years  behind  the  hacks  of  his  ministers 
of  foreign  affairs  and  the  regular  French  representatives  abroad.  Besides  mak- 
ing one  acquainted  with  the  views  of  Louis  XV.  on  foreign  affairs,  this  collection 
casts  a  curious  light  upon  the  king's  character  and  the  governmental  methods  in 
France  in  the  eighteenth  century. 

Busch,  Moritz. — "  Bismarck  in  the  Franco-German  War."     2  vols.     New   York, 
1879. 

Busch  was  in  intimate  touch  with  Bismarck  for  twenty-five  years. 
Commines,  Philippe  de. — "  Memoirs."     2  vols.     New  York,  1890. 

A  contemporary  account  of  the  reigns  of  Louis  XL  and  Charles  VIIL  by  the 
secretary  of  Louis  XL     One  of  the  most  valuable  sources  of  the  period. 
Eginhard. — "  Life  of  Charlemagne."     New  York,  1880. 

A  translation  of  the  Latin  life  of  Charlemagne  by  his  secretary,  Eginhard. 
The  little  volume  is  well  edited,  with  a  brief  life  of  Eginhard,  a  good  map,  and 
notes. 
Froissart. — "  Chronicles."     New   York,    1895. 

An  account  of  the  period  of  the  Hundred  Years'  War  by  a  contemporary. 
One  of  the  most  important  sources  of  the  history  of  France  in  the  fourteenth 
century. 

Joinville,  John  de. — ■"  Crusade  of  St.  Louis,"  in  "  Chronicles  of  the  Crusades,"  in 
the  Bohn  Library. 

A  contemporary  account  of  the  crusade. 
Loyd,  Lady  Mary. — "  New  Letters  of  Napoleon  L"     New  York.  1897. 
Moltke,  Helmuth  von. — "The  Franco-German  War  of  1870-1871."     New  York. 
1892. 

An  account  of  the  war  written  by  the  commander  of  the  German  armies. 
Monstrelet. — "  Chronicles."     2  vols.     London,  1867. 

A  continuation  of  Froissart,   recording  the   events   of  the   fifteenth   century 
of  French  history. 
Morris,  Gouverneur. — "Diary  and  Letters."     2  vols.     New  York,  1881. 

Diary  kept  by  Morris  in  Paris  during  the  Revolution,  and  letters  written 
from  the  same  place.      A  valuable  source. 

Normanby,  Marquis  of. — "  A  Year  of  Revolution,  from  a  Journal  Kept  in  Paris 
in  1848."     2  vols.     London,  1857. 

A  valuable  source  for  the  revolution  of  1848.  Normanby  was  the  English 
ambassador  in  Paris  at  the  time. 

Pasquier,  Etienne-Denis. — "A   History  of  My  Time,"   1789-1815.     3  vols.     New 
York,  1893,  1894. 

Contemporary  account  by  one  high  in  authority  under  the  empire  and  during 
the  early  restoration. 
Remusat,  Madame  de. — "  Memoirs."     3  vols.     New  York,  1880. 

The  recollections  of  a  brilliant  meml)er  of  the  court  of  Napoleon  L  con- 
cerning the  life  of  the  court  and  the  peculiarities  of  the  emperor. 
Rigby. — "  Dr.  Rigby's  Letters  from  France,  etc.,  in  1789." 

Rigby  spent  July  and  a  part  of  August  of  1789  in  I'Vance,  writing  home  ac- 
counts of  what  he  had  seen — and  he  saw  much — while  the  impressions  were  still 
fresh. 


502  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Saint-Simon,  Duke  of. — "  The  Memoirs  of  the   Reign  of  Louis  XIV.   and  the 
Regency."     3  vols.     London,  1833. 

A  daily  record  of  the  events  of  the  last  years  of  Louis  XIV.  and  the  first 
of  Louis  XV.  kept  by  one  of  the  most  distinguished  noblemen  of  the  court. 
Senior,    Nassau   William. — "  Journals   Kept   in   France   and   Italy   from    1848  to 
1852."    2  vols.     London,  1871. 

Senior  was  a  distinguished  Englishman  who  moved  in  the  best  circles  in 
France  and  Italy,  conversed  with  the  leading  statesmen  and  kept  a  record  of 
their  conversation,  even  having  his  records  corrected  by  them. 

"  Conversations  with  M.  Thiers,  M.  Guizot,  and  Other  Distinguished  Persons 

During  the  Second  Empire."  2  vols.  London,  1878. 

A  continuation  of  the  Journals. 
Simon,  Jules. — "  The  Government  of  M.  Thiers,  from  the  8th  of  February,  1871, 
to  the  24th  of  May,  1873."    2  vols.     New  York,  1878. 

An  account  of  Thiers'  government  written  by  a  colleague  and  a  friend.     It  is 
a  valuable  source. 
Sully,  Duke  of. — "  Memoirs."     4  vols.     London,   1877. 

The  account  of  the  age  of  Henry  IV.  written  by  the  Duke  of  Sully,  the 
minister  of  Henry  and  the  man  who  was  his  chief  instrument  in  reorganizing 
France  after  the  religious  wars. 

"  Table  Talk  and  Opinions  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte."     London,   1868. 
Talleyrand. — "  Memoirs."     5  vols.     New  York,  1891-1892. 

Published    long   after   Talleyrand's    death,   this    work   raised    a    controversy 
among  the  historians  concerning  its  genuineness.      No  conclusion  was  reached, 
but  it  is  probable  that  the  original  text  was  tampered  with. 
Tarbell,  Ida  M. — "  Napoleon's  Addresses."  Boston,  1897. 

Selections  from  addresses,  proclamations,  and  letters. 
Washburne,    E.    B. — "  Recollections   of   a    Minister    to   France."    2   vols.     New 
York,  1887. 

These  are  the  recollections  of  a  representative  of  the  Lnited  States  at  the 
French  court,  covering  the  years  1867  to  1877. 

Young,  Arthur. — "  Travels  in  France  During  the  Years  1787,  1788,  1789."    Third 
edition,  London,  1890. 

Probably  the  most  valuable  source  in  English  on  the  condition  of  France  at 
the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution.  Young  rode  through  the  length  and  breadth 
of  France,  examining  everything  with  the  eyes  of  a  trained  observer  and  record- 
ing his  observations  each  night  in  his  note-book. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Abbeville,  Treaty  of   (I-'5Q).  83 

Abdul-Rabinaii,  Mohaniinedan  caliph : 
at  war  with  Franks,  yj 

Abensberg:  battle  of   (1800).  335 

Aboukir:  battle  of   (!/()()),  310 

Ache,  Count  of:  his  campaign  in  India, 
246 

Adalberon,  Bishop  of  Laon :  crowns 
Hugh  Capet,  59 

Adda:  battle  of  the  (1705),  222 

Adrian  I,  Pope :  asks  aid  of  Charle- 
magne, 41 

Adrian  VI,  Pope:  accession  of,   138 

Aega :  made  mayor  of  the  palace,  '},}, 

/ligidius :  made  master  of  the  militia  in 
Gaul,  17 

Aetius :  career  of,  16 

AfTre,  Denis  Augnste :  Archbishop  of 
Paris :  death  of,  437 

Agapetus  II,  Pope:  intervenes  in  strug- 
gle between  Louis  IV  and  his 
rebellious    nobles,    56 

Aghrim:  battle  of  (1692).  218 

Agiiadel:  battle  of  (1508),  134 

Agosta:  battle  of  (1676),  212 

Aguesseau,  Henry  I'rancis  d' :  opposes 
Law's  schemes.  230:  given  the  direc- 
tion of  Law's  bank,  233 

Aiguillon,  Arniand  Vigucrot  Duplessis 
Richelieu,  Duke  of:  his  government 
of  Brittany,  248;  reforms  i>f,  249 

Aisne:  battle  of  the   (57  is.i.),  8 

Aix-la-Chapelle  :  made  capital  of  I'^rank- 
ish  empire,  44 

Aix-la-Chapelle,  Treaties  of:  (i()()8.), 
209;   (1748).  240 

Alais,  Peace  of   (1629),   187 

Alaric  II,  king  of  the  Visigoths:  defeat 
and  death  of,  20 

Albert,  Archduke  of  Austria:  his  cam- 
paign in  the  Franco-Austrian  War, 
279 


Albigcnses,  War  of  the.  yy 

Albrct,   Ahiin   d',   Lord   of   Bcarn :   joins 

nobles     against    Anne    of     Beaujeu, 

128 
Albret,  Constable  d' :   at  battle  of  A/in~ 

court,   III 
Alen(;on,   Francois.   Duke  of:   see   Fran- 

(;ois,  Duke  of  Anjou 
Alesia:  siege  of  (52  B.C.),  II 
Alexander  VT,   Pope:   grants  divorce  to 

Louis   XII   of   France   from  Jeanne, 

132 
Alexander  I,  tinperor  of  Russia:  acces- 
sion of,  318 
Alexandria,   d  nvention  of   (1800),  317 
Alexis  Coinmenu>,  emperor  of  the  h'a^t  : 

his  treatment  of  the  crusaders,  70 
Alibaud:    attempts   to   assassinate 

Philip.    409 
Alma:   battle  f)f  the    (1854),  446 
Almanz.'i :   battle  of   (1707),  21}, 
Almonacid  :  battle  of   (1809),  ^^y] 
Alphonso    III.   king   of    Aragon 

nized  as  king,  86 
Alphonso  II,  king  of  Naples  ami  Sicily: 

at  war  with  Charles  VIII  of  France, 

130;    abdication   of,    131 
Alvinc/y    (.\lvinzi),    Joseph,    Baron    von 

Barberck :      his     campaigns     against 

Napoleon.  301 
Amalaric,   king   of  the   Visigoths:   reign 

of,  25 
Aml)iosix.  chief  of  the  Fburones 

with  Rome.  () 
Amboise.  Conspiracy  of   (1360). 
Amboise,  Convention  of   (1563), 
Amiens,  Pe.ice  of  (  1802),  318 
Anagni,  Treaty  of    (1295),  86 
Ancenis,  Treaty  of  (1468),  123 
Ancre,  Marshal  d" :  see  Concini,  Concino, 

Marquis  of  Ancre 
Andrieux.      I-Tanc^ois      Guillaume      Jean 

Stanislas:  opposes  Napoleon,  319 


L( 


recog- 


at  war 


LSI 
LS4 


505 


606 


INDEX 


Angouleme,  Louis  Antolne  de  Bourbon, 

Duke  of:  liis  campaign  in  Spain,  380 
Anjou,  Henry,  Duke  of:  see  Henry  HI, 

king  of  France. 
Anjou,    Louis,    Duke    of:    see    Louis    I, 

king  of  Naples 
Anne,  daughter  of  Jaroslav  of  Russia: 

marries    Henry    I    of    France,    68 
Anne   of   Austria :   marries    Louis   XHI 

of    France,    179;    made    regent    of 

France,  199 
Anne   of   Beaujeu:    rules   as   regent    of 

France,  126 
Anne  of  Erittany:  marries  Charles  VHI 

of  France,   129;  marries  Louis  XH 

of  France.  132 
Anthony  of  Bourbon,  king  of  Navarre : 

opposes  policy  of  Catherine  de'  Me- 
dici, 149;  death  of,  154 
Antin,  Duke  of :  president  of  the  council 

of  home  affairs,  227 
Antwerp:  siege  of  (1832),  403 
Arago,  Dominique  Frangois:  member  of 

the  provisional  government,  435 
Arce,  Jeanne  d' :  see  Joan  of  Arc 
Arcis-sur-Aube :  battle  of  (1814),  347 
Arcole:  battle  of  (1796),  301 
Argenson,  Marc  Rene  Voyer,  Count  d' : 

made  chancellor,  230 
Ariovistus,  king  of   Suevi :   defeated  by 

Caesar,  8 
Aries:  siege  of  (506  a.d.),  20 
Armagnac,   Bernard,   Count  of :    at  war 

with   the   Duke   of   Burgundy,    no; 

made  regent  of  France,  112 
Armand :  opposes  the  decrees  of  July  25, 

1830,  390 
Arnulf,  Bishop  of  Metz :  rebellion  of,  31 
Arques:  battle  of  (1589),  167    . 
Arras:    siege   of    (1640),    194;    battle   of 

(1654),  206 
Arras,  Treaties  of:  (1435),  117;  (1482), 

125 
Artevelt,  Jacques  of:  revolt  of,  93 
Arthur,   Prince:  claims  throne  of  Eng- 
land, 76 
Artois,   Charles,   Count  of:   see   Charles 

X,  king  of  France 
Asfeld,    Marquis    of:    his    campaign    in 

Germany,  236 
Aspern:   battle  of    (1809),  335 
Astolphe,  king  of  the  Lombards:  at  war 

with  Pope  Zacharias,  40 


Athalaric,  king  of  the  Ostrogoths :  reign 

of.  25 
Attila:  leads  Hun  invasion.  17 
Auerstadt:  battle  of  (1806),  328 
Augereau,      Pierre      Frangois      Charles, 
Duke  of  Castiglione:  his  campaigns 
imder  the  directory,  298;  given  com- 
mand   of    the    military    division    of 
Paris,    304;    made    marshal     of   the 
empire,  322 
Augsburg,   Peace  of   (1555),   146 
Augsburg,  Diet  of   (i555),  I47 
Augsburg,  League  of   (1688),  217 
Augustus  I,  elector  of  Saxony  and  king 

of  Poland :  death  of,  235 
Augustus  HI,  elector  of  Saxony :  claims 

imperial  crown,  236 
Augustus,    Csesar   Octavius,   emperor   of 
Rome:  condition  of  Gaul  under,   11 
Aumale :  battle  of   (1592),   168 
Aumale,  Charles  of  Lorraine,  Duke  of: 
supports     claims     of     Philip     II     of 
Spain  to  the  crown  of  France,  170 
Aurai:  battle  of  (1365),  103 
Austerlitz:  battle  of  (1805),  326 
Austro-Prussian  War,  455 
Auvergne,  Charles  de  Valois,  Count  of : 
leader  of   discontented   nobles,    172; 
joins  conspiracy  of  Entragues,  174 
Auxerre :  battle  of  (843  a.d.),  50 
Avenues   (Avein)  :  battle  of  (1635),  191 
Azincourt:  battle  of   (1415),  in 


B 


"  Babylonian    Captivity,"    88 

Badajoz:  siege  of  (1811),  338 

Baden,  Prince :  defeated  at  Friedlingen, 

221 
Badly    Established    Peace,    The    (1568), 

.  ^56 

Bailly,  Jean  Sylvain :  president  of  the 
States-General,  262 ;  appointed  may- 
or of  Paris,  264;  death  of,  287 

Balaklava:  battle  of   (1854),  447 

Baldwin  V,  Count  of  Flanders :  guardian 
of  Philip  I  of  France,  68 

Bale :  see  Basel 

Baliol,  John :  made  king  of  Scotland,  87 

Bande :  opposes  the  decrees  of  July  25, 
1830,  390 

Barante,     Aimable     Guillaume     Prosper 


I  N  D  K  X 


507 


Brugicrc,  Baron  dc :  leader  of  the 
doctrinaires,  372 

Barbarossa :  his  conquest  of  Tunis,  142 

Barbaroux,  Charles  Jean  Marie:  incites 
insurrection  in  the  departments,  284 

Barbe-Marbois,  TVanQois,  Marquis  de : 
made  president  of  the  ancients,  303; 
made  minister  of  jn.-tice,  367 

Barbes,  Armand:  leader  of  the  Society 
of  the  Seasons,  417;  opposes  the  pro- 
visional government,  436;  trial  of, 
438 

Barcelona:  siege  of   (1705),  222 

Barcelona,  Treaty  of  (i4i;3).  120 

Barna\  e,  Antoine  Pierre  Joseph  Marie: 
death  of,  287 

Barras,  Paid  Jean  Fran(^ois  Nicolas, 
Count  of:  made  commander-in-chief 
of  convention  forces,  295 ;  appointed 
member  of  the  directory,  2g6 

Barrere  de  Vieu/.ac,  Bertrand :  made 
member  of  the  committee  of  safety, 
285 

Barricades,   Battle   of  the    (13SS).    1O3 

Barrot,  Caniillc  llyacinthe  Odillon  :  oj)- 
poscs  abolition  of  capital  punisli- 
inent,  396;  leads  opposition  to  (jui- 
zot's  ministry,  424;  ojjposes  Gui/ot's 
foreign  policy,  430;  placed  at  the 
head  of  first  republican  cabinet, 
438 

Barry,  Jeanne  Been,  Coimte^s  of:  her 
relations  with  Louis  XV,  248 

Bart,  Jean:  destroys  English  commerce, 
219 

Barihe:  made  minister  of  justice,  399; 
in  Souk's  ministry,  402;  given  port- 
folio of  justice  in  Mole's  cabinet.  412 

Barthelemy,  Frangois,  Mar<inis  de :  ban- 
ished and  proscribed,  305 

Basel,  Peace  of   (1795).  -<'3 

Bassano:  battle  of   (i79'>).  3"" 

Bassano,  Ungues  Bernard  Maret,  Duke 
of  :  his  ministry,  407 

Bastilc:  siege  of  (1789),  264 

Baudin  des  Ardeimes,  Charles  :  his  expe- 
dition against  Mexico,  413 

Bautzen:  battle  of  (1813).  343 

Bayard,  Pierre  dn  Terrail,  Chevalier  de  : 
his  campaign  in  Italy,  136;  saves 
jNIezieres,    13S 

Bayezid  I,  sultan  of  Turkey:  invades 
Greece  and  Hungary,    109 


r>azaine.  I'rauQois  Acbille:  his  campaign 
in  Mexico,  453;  in  the  Franco-Prus- 
sian   W'.ar,   463 

Beaufort,  Fran(;iiis  of  Vendome,  Duke 
of:  commands  troops  of  Conde 
against  Anne  of  Austria,  204;  his 
campaign   against   the   pirates,  208 

Beauharnais,  Alexandre:   death  of,  287 

Beauharnais,  Fugene  de :  made  viceroy 
of  Italy,  324 

Beaulieu,  Jean  Pierre.  Baron  de :  his 
campai.mi  against  Xapoleon,  2<:)8 

Beaumont:  battle  of   (1870'),  414 

I^eaumont,  Christophe  de,  Archbishoi)  of 
Paris:   intolerance  of.  241 

Beckct.  Tlmmas  a.  Arc]ibi>hop  of  Can- 
terbury: murder  of,  74 

Bedeau.   Marie  Alphonse  :   arrest  of,  441 

Bedford.  John  Plantagcnet,  Duke  of: 
regent  in  France,  113 

Bedocdard.  sultan  of  [■"gypt :  his  con- 
quests in  Palestine.  84 

Belgians  :  revolt  of,  8 

Belle-Isle:  battles  of  (1747),  240; 
(1795),  294 

Belleisle.  Charles  Louis  Anguste  Bou- 
quet, Duke  of:  in  the  War  of  Aus- 
trian   Succession,  240 

Belluno,  Claude  Perrin  Victor.  Duke  of: 
made  minister  of  war.   t,j^ 

Benedetti.  Count  Vincent:  amba^isador 
to  Berlin,  462 

Benedict  XI II,  anti-Pope:  bis  struggle 
with   Boniface    IX,   109 

Benningsen  ( llennigsen).  Count  Levin 
August  Theojihil :  his  campaign 
against  Napnleon,  329 

P)eresina:  battle  of  the    (1812).  342 

I'ergen:   battle  of    (1759),  245 

I'ergerac,  Pe;ice  of  (1577).  160 

Bergheni :  b;itlle  of  (179'/),  310 

Berlin  Decree  ti8o()).  329 

Bernadotte.  Jean  Ba[)tiste  Jules:  see 
Charles   Xl\^  king  of  Sweden 

Bernard,  Saint,  Abbot  of  Clairvaux  : 
preaches  the  second  crusade,  Jt, 

Bernard,  king  of  Italy:  accession  of,  44; 
death  of.  47 

Bernard,  Count  of  Armagnac :  see  Ar- 
magnac,   Bernard,  Coiuit  of 

Bernard,  Major:  conspiracy  of,  375 

Bernard,  Martin:  leader  of  the  Society 
of  the  Seasons,  417 


508 


INDEX 


Bernard,  Simon :  trial  of,  450 

Bernard  of  Saxc-Weimar,  Duke :  his 
campaigns  in  the  Thirty  Years' 
War,   190 

Berry,  Charles  of  France,  Duke  of:  at 
head  of  the  League  of  the  Public 
Good,  122;  death  of,  124 

Berry,  Charles  Ferdinand,  Duke  of:  as- 
sassination of,  2>T^ 

Berry,  Jean  of  France,  Duke  of:  claims 
regency  for  Charles  VI  of  France, 
106;  dismissed  from  government  of 
Languedoc.  108 

Bcrrycr,  Pierre  Antoine :  enters  parlia- 
mentary life,  389;  arrest  of,  441 

Bertha,  widow  of  Eudes  I  of  Bois :  mar- 
ries Robert  II  of  France,  67 

Bertha,  daughter  of  Count  Florent  of 
Holland :  marries  Philip  I  of  France, 

71 

Berthair,  mayor  of  the  palace :  reign  of, 

35 

Berthier,  Alexandre :  his  campaign  in 
Italy,  307;  made  marshal  of  the  em- 
pire, 322 

Bcrton,  Jean  Baptiste :  instigates  a  Bo- 
napartist  plot,  378 

Bertrade :    marries    Philip   I    of   France, 

71 

Berwick,  James  Fitzjames,  Duke  of:  his 
campaigns  in  Spain,  223,  231 ;  his 
campaign  in  Germany,  235 

Bessieres,  Jean  Baptiste :  made  marshal 
of  the  empire,  322 

Bcthmont:  member  of  the  provisional 
government,  435 

Beugnot,  Jacques  Claude :  made  minister 
of  police,  356 

Bcurnonville.  Pierre  Riel  de :  his  cam- 
paigns in  the  Franco-Austrian  War, 
276;  member  of  provisional  govern- 
ment, 349 

Beyrout:  bombarded    (1840),  419 

Biberach:  battle  of  (1796),  301 

Bicoque:  battle  of  (1522),  138 

Billaud-Varennes,  Jean  Nicolas :  made 
member  of  the  committee  of  safety, 
285 

Billault:  opposes  Guizot's  foreign  policy, 
430;  death  of,  454 

Biron,  Armand  Louis,  Duke  of:  death 
of,  287 

Biron,    Charles    de    Goutant,    Duke    of: 


leader   of  discontented   nobles,    172; 

death  of,  173 
Blacas,  Count  of:  made  minister  of  the 

king's  household,  356 
Black    Prince:    see    Edward,    Prince    of 

England 
Blakeney,    General:    defends    St.    Philip, 

244 
Blanc,  Jean  Joseph  Charles  Louis :  leads 

revolt,  437 
Blanche    of    Castile :    made    regent    for 

Louis  IX  of  France,  80;  death  of,  82 
Blanche  of  Navarre :  marries  Philip  VI 

of  France,  95 
Blancmenil,   Nicholas   Potier  de  Novion 

de :  arrested,  201 
Blanqui,   Louis  Auguste:   leader  of  the 

Society  of  the  Seasons,  417;  opposes 

the   provisional   government,   436 
Bleneau :  battle  of  (1653),  204 
Blenheim:  battle  of   (1704),  221 
Blois,    Charles    de,    Duke    of    Brittany: 

presides    over    the    Estates    (1356), 

99;  death  of,  103 
Blois,  Treaty  of  (1504),  133 
Bliicher,    Gebhard    Leberecht    von :    his 

campaigns    against    Napoleon,    346; 

his  campaign  in  Belgium,  362 
Boissy  d'   Anglas,   Count   Frangois   An- 
toine de :  leads  constitutional  party, 

358 
Bonaparte,     Charles     Louis     Napoleon : 

see    Napoleon    III,   emperor   of   the 

French 
Bonaparte,    Joseph :    made    constable    of 

the  empire,  322;  made  king  of  Na- 
ples, 327;  made  king  of  Spain,  333; 

given  command  of  Paris,  345 
Bonaparte,   Louis :    made   grand   elector, 

322 ;  made  king  of  Holland,  ■^^2.'] 
Bonaparte,   Lucien :   attempts   to   defend 

Napoleon  before  the  council  of  five 

hundred,  310 
Bonaparte,  Napoleon:  see  Napoleon  (I) 

Bonaparte 
Bonaparte,     Prince     Pierre     Napoleon : 

kills  Victor  Noir,  460 
Bonchamp,     Charles     Melchior     Artus, 

Marquis    de :    supports    insurrection 

in  the  Vendee,  283 
Boniface  VIII,  Pope:  reconciles  Edward 

I  of  England  and  Philip  the  Fair  of 

France,  87;  death  of,  88 


INDEX 


509 


Boniface    TX,    Pope:    his    struj;:glc    with 

Benedict  XIII,  109 
Bonnivet,    Guillaume    Goufiicr    <le :    his 

campaign  in  Italy.  139 
Bordeaux.  Compact  of   (1871),  469 
Bordeaux.  Treaty  of  (1242).  81 
Borodino:  battle  of  (1812).  341 
Boscawen,    Edward :    in    the    war    with 

France,  243 
Boso.    king    of    Provence:    usurps    the 

throne.  52 
Bosquet,  Pierre  Joseph  Francois :  in  the 

Crimean  War,  446 
Bouillon,  Henri  de  la  Tour  d'Auvergne, 

Duke  of:  joins  conspiracy  of  Biron, 

173;  revolt  of,  178;  conspires  against 

Richelieu,  194 
Boulanger,  Georges  Ernest  Jean  Marie : 

rise  of,  484 
Boulogne:  siege  of  (1492),  129 
Bourbon,  Louis  Henry,  Duke  of:  given 

the  superintendence  of  Louis   XV's 

education,    230;    member    of    king's 

council,  234 
Bourdonnaye :     made     member     of     the 

council,  388 
Bourg,    Anne    of:    persecution    of,    149; 

trial  of,  150 
Bourg,  Antoine  du  :  influences  h'rancis  I 

of  France,  142 
Bourmont,  Louis  Auguste  Victor,  Count 

de   Ghaisnes   de :    made   member   of 

the  council,  388 
Bournonville,     Prince    of:     defeated    at 

battle  of  Ensheim,  211 
Bouvines:  battle  of  (1214),  "z-] 
Boyne:  battle  of  the  (1691),  218 
Braddock,  Edward :  defeat  of,  243 
Breda,  Peace  of   (1667),  208 
Brenneville:  battle  of  (my),  -jj. 
Breteuil,  Baron :  made  member  (jf  coun- 
cil, 263 
Bretigny,  Treaty  of  (1360),  loi 
Breton  Club:  formed,  269 
Breze,  Url)ain  de  Maille:  his  campaigns 

in  the  Thirty  Years'  War.   191 
Bridge  of  Taillebourg:  battle  of  (1242), 

81 
Bridport.  Lord :  commands  fleet  against 

the  French,  294 
Brienne:  battle  of   (1814),  345 
Briennc.   Gauthierde,    Duke   of   Athens: 

leader  of  nobility,  96 


Brienne,  Lomenie  of:  made  miiii'-icr  of 
liuance,  258 

Brissac.  Charles  de  Cos-^e.  C<nmt  de  :  his 
campaigns  in  Piedmont.   147 

Brissot  de  Warville,  Jean  I^ierrc :  leads 
(Girondist  party.  272 

Britain  :  invaded  by  Ca?sar.  9 

Brittany.  Francis  TT.  Duke  of:  rebil-- 
against  Louis  XI.  121,  124;  at  war 
with  Anne  of  Beaujeu,  127 

Broglie,  Achille  Charles  Leonce  Victor. 
Duke  of:  leads  constitutional  party, 
358:  leader  of  the  doctrinaires,  371: 
minister  of  public  instruction  and 
worship,  396;  in  Soult's  ministry. 
402;  his  ministry.  407 

Broglie.  Frangois  Marie,  Count  of:  liis 
campaign  in  Italy.  236 

Broglie,  Victor  Frangois.  Duke  de  :  made 
member  of  cabinet,  263 

Broussel :  arrested.  201 

Brueys  d'Aigalliers,  Frangois  Paul  de : 
commands  ileet  for  Egyptian  expedi- 
tion, 306,  309 

Bruges,  Truce  of  (1375),  105 

Brune,  Guillaume  Marie  Anne:  bib  cam- 
paign in  Holland,  308 :  made  mar- 
shal of  the  empire.  322 

Brunhilda:  marries  Sigibert.  27 

Brunswick,  Charles  William  Ferdinand, 
Duke  of:  his  campaigns  against 
France,  274.  287 

Buckingham,  George  Villiers.  ist  Duke 
of :  his  campaign  in  France,  185 

Bugancy:  battle  of  (1870).  464 

Bugeaud  de  la  Piconucrie,  Thomas  Rob- 
ert: his  campaign  in  Algiers.  423; 
in  the  revolution  of  1848.  433 

Buntofdcn,  General :  his  campaign 
against  Xapoleon.  329 

Burgos:  battle  of   (1808).  334 

Burgundy.  John  the  Fearless.  Duke  of : 
see  John  the  Fearless,  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy. 

Burgundy,  Philip  the  Bold.  Duke  of: 
see  Philip  the  Bold,  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy 

Busaco:  battle  of  (1810),  338 

Buzot,  Frangois  Nicolas  Leonard :  in- 
cites insurrection  in  the  departments. 
284 

Byng.  John :  in  the  Seven  Years'  War, 
244 


510 


INDEX 


Cabanis:  opposes  Napoleon,  319 
Caboche,    John :    leader   of    a    corps    of 

bntchers  in  the  service  of  John  of 

Burgundy,  in 
Cadiz:  siege  of  (1810),  237 
Cadoudal,     Georges:     capitulates,     319; 

plots  against  Napoleon's  life,  321 
Caesar,    Caius   Julius:    his    campaign    in 

Gaul,  8 
Cahors:   taken   by   Henry   of    Navarre, 

161 
Calais:  captured  by  the  English  (1346), 

95;  captured  by  the  French  (i558)> 

148 
Calcinato:  battle  of  (1706),  222 
Calder,  Sir  Robert:  at  battle  of  Ferrol, 

325 

Caldiero:  battles  of  (1796),  301;  (1805), 

326 
Calonne,    Charles    Alexandre    de :    made 

minister  of  finance,  257 
Cambaceres,     Jean     Jacques     Regis     de, 
Duke   of   Parma:   appointed   consul, 
315;    made    arch-chancellor    of    the 
empire,  322 
Cambon,   Pierre  Joseph :  made  member 

of  the  committee  of  safety,  285 
Cambrai:  siege  of   (1794),  289 
Cambrai,  League  of   (1508),  134 
Campo-Formio,   Peace  of   (i797),  303 
Canopa:  battle  of   (1801),  318 
Canrobert,     Franqois     Certain:     assists 
schemes   of    Napoleon    III,   442;    in 
the  Franco-Prussian  War,  463 
Canton:  bombarded   (1857),  449 
Cape  Finisterre :  battles  of  (1747),  240; 

(180S),  326 
Cape    St.    Vincent:    battle    of    (1759), 

246 
Carcassonne:  siege  of  (506  a.d.),  20 
Caribert,  Prankish  king:  reign  of,  26 
Carignan,   Prince  Thomas  of:  his  cam- 
paigns  in   the   Thirty   Years'    War, 
191 
Carnot,  Lazare  Plippolyte:  made  mem- 
ber of  the  provisional  government, 
435 
Carnot,     Lazare     Nicolas     Marguerite: 
made  member  of  the  committee  of 
safety,    285;    appointed    member    of 
the    directory,    296;    banished    and 


proscribed,  305;  leads  constitutional 
party,  358;  becomes  minister  of  the 
interior  in  Napoleon's  council,  361 ; 
made  member  of  provisional  gov- 
ernment,  365 

Carnot,  Marie  Frangois  Sadi,  president 
of  the  French  Republic:  election  of, 
484 

Carrel,  Armand :  opposes  the  decrees  of 
July  25,  1830,  390 

Casal :  siege  of  (1639),  193 

Casimir,  Prince,  of  the  Palatinate :  aids 
French  Protestants,   159 

Cassano,  Bridge  of:  battle  of  (1705), 
222 

Cassel:  battles  of  (1328),  93;  (1677), 
212 

Castcl-Bolognese :   battle  of    (1797),  302 

Castelnaudary :    battle   of    (1632),    188 

Castiglione  (Castiglione  dcUe  Stivierc)  : 
battle  (if  (1796),  299 

Castries,  Charles  Eugene  Gabriel  de  la 
Croix,  Marquis  of:  in  the  Seven 
Years'  War,  246 

Cathelineau,  Jacques :  leads  insurrection 
in  the  Vendee,  283 

Catherine  II,  empress  of  Russia:  acces- 
sion of,  247 

Catherine  de'  Medici :  marries  Henry 
II  of  France,  142;  regent  for  Fran- 
cis II  of  France,  149;  regent  for 
Charles  IX  of  France,  152;  regent 
for  Henry  HI  of  France,  159 

Catinat,  Nicolas:  his  campaign  in  Ger- 
many, 217;  his  campaigns  in  the 
War  of  Spanish   Succession,  220 

Cauchon,  Pierre,  Bishop  of  Beauvais : 
condemns   Joan   of  Arc,    116 

Caulaincourt,  Armand  Augustin  Louis 
de,  Duke  of  Vicenza :  member  of 
provisional  government,  365 

Caussidiere :   revolt  of,  437 

Cavaignac,  Eugene  Louis :  made  gov- 
ernor of  Algiers,  435 ;  made  minis- 
ter of  war,  437;  made  president  of 
the  provisional  government,  437; 
arrest  of,  441 

Cellamare,  Prince  of:  conspires  against 
the  Duke  of  Orleans,  230 

Celts :  description  of,  4 

Cerignoles :  battle  of    (1503),   133 

Cerisoles:  battle  of   (1544),  I43 

Chalais,    Henry    de    Talleyrand,    Count 


INDEX 


511 


of:  conspires  against  Cardinal  Rich- 
elieu, 184 

Chalons-sur-.Mariic  :   sec   Mery-sur-Scinc 

Champ-Au])crt :   battle   of    (1814).   346 

Chandernagore :  taken  by  the  F.nglish 
(1757).  246 

Changarnier,  Nicolas  Anne  Theodole : 
given  command  of  the  troops  of  the 
second   republic,  436;   arrest  of,  441 

Chapelier :  death  of,  289 

Chararic,  chief  of  Courtray:  death  of, 
21 

Charette  de  la  Contrie,  Frangois  Atha- 
nase :  leads  insurrection  in  the  Ven- 
dee, 283;  arouses  royalists  in  Brit- 
tany, 294;  taken  prisoner,  297 

Charlemagne,  Holy  Roman  emperor : 
consecrated,  40;   reign  of,  41 

Charleroi:   siege   of    (1794),  290 

Charles  (I)  the  Great,  Holy  Roman  em- 
peror: see  Charlemagne 

Charles  (II)  the  Bald,  Holy  Roman 
emperor  (T,  king  of  France)  :  fa- 
vored by  his  father,  48;  reign  of,  as 
king  of  the  F^ranks,  50 ;  becomes 
emperor,  51 

Charles  (III)  the  Fat,  Holy  Roman 
emperor  (II,  king  of  France)  : 
reign  of,  52 

Charles  V,  FInly  Roman  emperor:  ca- 
reer of,   137 

Charles  VI,  Holy  Roman  emperor:  :ic- 
cession   of,   224;   death   of.   236 

Charles  (VII)  Albert,  Holy  Roman 
emperor:  claims  im[)erial  crown, 
236;    accession    of,    237;    death    of, 

239 

Charles  I,  king  of  France:  see  Charles 
(11)  the  Bald,  Holy  Roman  em- 
peror 

Charles  II,  king  of  France:  see  Charles 
(HI)  the  Fat,  Holy  Roman  em- 
peror 

Charles  (III)  the  Simple,  king  of 
France :   reign  of,  53 

Charles  (IV)  the  I'air,  king  of  France: 
reign  of,  90 

Charles  V,  king  of  France :  regent  for 
his  father,  99;  reign  of,  102 

Charles  VI,  king  of  France :  reign  of, 
106 

Charles  VII,  king  of  I'rance :  claims 
throne,  114;   reign  of,    116 


Charles  VIII,  king  of  France:  reign  of, 

126 
Charles    IX.   king  of   France:   reign   of, 

Charles  (X)  of  Bourbon,  titular  king  of 
I'Vance :    declared   king,   166 

Charles  X,  king  of  France:  leaves 
France,  265 ;  attempts  invasion  of 
France.  294;  returns  to  France,  350; 
his  campaign  against  N^apoleon.  360; 
reign  of,  382 ;  abdication  and  exile 
of,  392 

Charles  II,  king  of  N^aples:  recognized 
as  king.  86;  persecutes  the  Tem- 
plars, 89 

Charles  II,  king  of  N^avarre:  declares 
war  against  John  of  France,  96; 
taken  prisoner  by  John  of  France, 
97;  made  captain  general  of  Paris- 
ian forces,  loi 

Charles  II,  king  of  Spain:  death  of,  220 

Charles  IV,  king  of  Spain:  abdication 
of.  332 

Charles  (XIV)  John  (Jean  Baptiste 
Jules  I'ernadotte),  king  of  Sweden 
and  Norway :  commands  the  army 
of  the  Rhine,  308;  made  marshal  of 
the  French  empire,  322;  elected 
heir  to  the  Swedish  throne.  338 

Charles  of  Aujou.  king  of  the  Two  Sici- 
lies: accession  of,  84 

Charles.  Archduke  of  Austria  :  his  cam- 
paigns against  the  I'rench.  2(;o.  3aS, 

3 -'5 
Charlc'^.    Duke    of    Bourbon    (d.    1527)  : 

joins  the  emperor  Charles  V,  319 
Charles   the    Bold,   Duke   of   Burgundy : 

aids  Louis  XI  of  hVance,  119;  rebels 

against  Louis  XI,  122 
Charles,   Duke   of   Lower   Lorraine :   ob- 
tains   Lower    Lorraine,    58;    claims 

throne,  59 
Charles    III,    Duke    of    Savoy:    at    war 

with  Francis  I  of  France,   143 
Charles  of  Blois  :  at  war  with  Montfort, 

93 
Ciiarles  of  Maine :  will  of,  125 
Charles  of  Valois :  named  as  successor 

of  Pedro  III  of  Aragon,  85;  receives 

!\laine  and  Anjou,  86 
Charles    Albert,    king    of    Sardinia :    his 

reforms  in  Piedmont,  426 
Charles   Emmanuel   I,   king  of   Sardinia 


612 


INDEX 


(III,  Duke  of  Savoy)  :  forms  alli- 
ance with  France,  235 ;  claims 
duchy  of  Milan,  236 

Charles  Emmanuel  II,  king  of  Sardinia 
(IV,  Duke  of  Savoy)  :  abdication 
of,  307 

Charles  Emmanuel  (I)  the  Great,  Duke 
of  Savoy:  at  war  with  Henry  IV 
of  France,  172 

Charles  Emmanuel  III  and  IV,  Dukes 
of  Savoy :  see  Charles  Emmanuel  I 
and  II,  kings  of  Sardinia 

Charles  Martel :  career  of,  36 

Charlotte  of  Montmorency:  her  rela- 
tions with  Henry  IV  of  France,  175 

Charlotte  of  Savoy:  marries  Louis  XI 
of  France,  T19 

Charton :  arrest  of,  ordered,  201 

Chasseloup-Loubat :    ministry    of,    459 

Chateaubriand,  Frangois  Rene  Auguste, 
Viscount  of:  at  the  Verona  Con- 
gress, 379 ;  forms  a  new  opposition 
party,  381 

Chateau-Cambresis,  Peace  of  (1559), 
148 

Chateau  Thierry:  battle  of   (1814),  346 

Chatel,  John :  attempts  to  assassinate 
Henry  IV  of  France,  170 

Chatelain :  opposes  the  decrees  of  July 
25.   1830,  390 

Chatillon,  Odet :  plots  against  the 
Guises,    150 

Chatillon:  Count  of:  his  campaigns  in 
the  Thirty  Years'  War,  191 

Chaulnes,  Marshal :  his  campaigns  in 
the  Thirty  Years'  War,   194 

Chaumont,  Treaty  of   (1814),  347 

Chebreiss :  battle  of  (1798),  309 

Chenier,  Marie  Joseph  de :  opposes  Na- 
poleon, 319 

Cheverny,  Bishop  of  Troyes :  made 
member  of  the  council  of  regency, 
227 

Chevert,  Frangois :  in  the  War  of  the 
Austrian    Succession,   237 

Chiari :   battle  of    (1701),  220 

Cliildebert  I,  Frankish  king:  reign  of, 
24 

Childebcrt  IT,  Frankish  king:  reign  of, 
27 

Childebcrt  HI,  Frruikish  king:  reign  of, 
35  _ 

Childeric  I,  Frankish  king:  reign  of,  17 


Childeric  II,  Frankish  king,  reign  of,  34 

Childeric  III,  Frankish  king:  reign  of, 
.  38  _  _      . 

Chilperic,  Frankish  king :  reign  of,  26 

Choiseul  (Choiseul-Amboise),  fitiennc 
Frangois,  Duke  of:  urges  peace 
with  England,  246;  disgraced  and 
banished,  249 

Chramme,  Frankish  prince :  rebellion 
of,  26 

Christian  IV,  king  of  Denmark :  takes 
part  in  the  Thirty  Years'  War,   190 

Chunda  Sahib,  nabob  of  the  Carnatic : 
recognized  by  the   French,  242 

Cinq-Mars,  Effiat,  Marquis  of:  conspires 
against  Richelieu,  194 

Ciudad-Real :  battle  of  (1809),  337 

Clairfait  (Clerfayt),  Frangois  Sebastian 
Charles  Joseph  de  Croix:  his  cam- 
paigns in  the  Franco-Austrian  War, 
279 

Claremont,  Count  of :  claims  guardian- 
ship of  Charles  VIII  of  France,  126 

Claude,  daughter  of  Anne  of  Brittany : 
marries  Francis,  Count  of  Angou- 
leme,  133 

Clausel,  Bertrand :  governor-general  of 
Algeria,  411 

Clemence  of  Hungary:  marries  Louis 
X  of  France,  89 

Clement  V,  Pope :  accession  of,  88 

Clement  VII  (Robert  of  Geneva),  anti- 
Pope  :  election  of,  105 

Clement  VIII,  Pope :  absolves  Henry 
IV  of  France,   170 

Clement  XIV,  Pope:  suppresses  Jesuits, 
248 

Clement,  Jacques :  assassinates  Henry 
HI  of  France,  165 

Clerfayt:   see   Clairfait 

Clermont :  see  Georgovia 

Clermont,  Louis  de  Bourbon-Conde, 
Count  of:  in  Seven  Years'  War,  245 

Clermont,  Robert  of.  Marshal  of  Nor- 
mandy: death  of,    loo 

Clisson,  Oliver:  murder  of,  94 

Clisson,  Oliver  de:  his  campaign  in 
Flanders,  107;  attempted  assassina- 
tion of,  108 

Clive,  Robert,  Baron  Clive  of  Plassey: 
his  campaign   against  Dupleix,   242 

Cloderic,  king  of  the  Ripuarian  Franks : 
reign  of,  21 


INDEX  518 

Clodoald,   Saint:   found';  mnna'^tory.  2^  made  mar'^lial  of  France.  17S;  death 

Clodomir,   Prankish   kinp:   roiirn   <'f.   24  of.    iSo 

Clootz,  Jean   Baptiste  du   Val   de   (Irace,  Conde,    ileiiry    (I)    of    Ronrhon.    I'rinee 

Baron  of:  dcatli  of,  j8l^  of:    Iji-ennies    elKinipion    of    reliyiou^ 

Cloth  of  Cold.  Field  of,  137  freedom    in    I-Vanee,    156;    death    of, 

Clotilda,  Saint:  marries  Clo\  is,   19  i6j 

Clotilda,    daughter    of    Clovis :    marries  Conde,  Henry   (II)   of  Bonrl)on:   Prince 

Amalaric,  25  of:  marriage  of,  175:  revolt  of,  178; 

Clovis  I,  Frankish  king,  reign  of.   iS  arrested.    170 

Clovis  TI.  Frankish  king:  reign  of,  33  Conde.    Louis    (I)    of    Bourbon.    Prince 

Clovis   III,   Frankish  king:   reign  of.  35  of:   opposes  policy  of  Catherine   de' 

Clugny  de  Nuis,  Jean  ritiemie  I'ernartl :  Medici,   14Q:   de;ith   of.   156 

becomes  minister  of 'tinance,  254  Conde,   Louis    (II)    of   Bourbon.    Prince 

Cobden,    Richard:    arranges    commercial  of:   his  campaign   in   Flanders.    i<>): 

treaty  between  France  and  England,  arrested,  202;  at  war  with  Anne  of 

451  Austria,   203;    his   campaign    against 

Coburg     (Saxe-Coburg),    Friedrich    Jo-  the  Dutch,  210;   death  of,  211 

sias,  Prince  of:  his  campaign  against  Conde.  Louis  Joseph  of  Bourbon.  Prince 

the    French    revolutionists,    283;    be-  of:    leaves    France,   265;    leads   emi- 

sieges  jNlaubeuge,  287  grants  against  I'rance.  276 

Cocherel :   battle  of    (1364),   103  Condorcet.   Marie  Jean   Antoine   Nicolas 

Coeuves,    Marquis    of:    his    campaign    in  Caritat.    Marquis    of:    leads    Giron- 

the   Valtelline,    183  dist  party,  272 

Coigny,    PVangois    de :    his    campaign    in  Confederation    of    the    Rhine:     formed, 

Italy,  236  327 

Colbert,   Jean    Baptiste :   becomes   minis-  Congregation,  The :   rise  of.   t,/7 

ter  of  finance,  207;   sketch  of,   208;  Conradin   (Conrad  V)  :  death  of.  85 

death  of,  215  Consarbriick:  battle  of   (i()75),  212 

Colignon  :  draws  up  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  Constance,    daughter    of    the    Count    of 

171  Toulouse:     marries     Robert     II     of 

Coligny,    Gaspard    de :    his    campaign    in  L'rance,  67 

Artois,  148;  plots  against  the  Guises,  Con.'-tanl    de    Rebecciue,     Henry     Benja- 

150;    death   of,    15S  min  :    opposes    N.apoleon,   311):    leads 

Coligny-Saligny,     Jean,     Count     of:     at  constitutional      party.      358;      draws 

battle   of   Saint-Gothard.   joH  up     the     "  Additional     Act     in     the 

Colli,     Baroii :     commands     Piedmuntese  Constiluticns    of    the    I'.mpire."   3(>i  ; 

army,      294;      conmiauds      Ausiri.-ui  his    relations    to    the    revoliitinu    of 

army,   302  1830,  3of;  suggests  tUe  Duke  of  ()r- 

Collot     d'llerbois,     Jean     M:irie:     mad*'  leans  ,'l'^  successor  of  Charles  X,3()2 

member  of  the  conuuittee  of  safety,  Constantine:  sieges  of  (1836),  411;  siege 

285                                                               '  of  (1S37).  413 

Colniar :  battle  of   (1674).  211  Constantine    (1)    the    (^reat,   emperor   of 

Colonna,    Prosper:    captured   by    I'^ench.  Rome:   condition  of  Gaul  under,    13 

136  Constantinople:   captured  by   the   Greeks 

Combes,  Colonel:  his  campaign  in  Italy,  (1261).  84 

401  Constantius     (!)     Chlorus.    Cac-^ar,    em- 

Commines,     Philip     de:     rebels     against  pcror   of    Rome:    condition   of   Gaul 

Anne      of      Beaujeu,      127;      warns  under,   13 

Charles  VIII  against  the  League  of  Constitution  of   1875,  479 

Venice,   131  Consulate,  The,  315 

Comnnme,  Rising  of  the   (1870),  470  Contades,    Louis    George    F.rasme,    Mar- 

Conflans,  Treaty  of    (1465),   122  quis  of:   in   the   Seven   Years'   War, 

Concini,    Concino,    Marquis    of    Ancre :  245 


514 


INDEX 


Conti,  Prince  of:  leaves  France   (1789), 

C'oiiti,    Annaiul   of   l'.ourl)Oii,   Prince  of: 

ar rest 0(1,    202 
('(K.tc,    Sir    r.yrc :    liis   campaijLfn   against 

tli(-  sultan  of  Mysore,  257 
("o[)cnliaKcn  :     honihardment    of     (1807), 

Corlxil,   'IVealy  of    (1258),  83 

Corhirrf,  Jaccines,  Count  of:  admitted 
to  llie  council,  375;  made  minister 
of  the  interior,  378 

Corday,  CIiaHotte:   slays  Marat,  285 

(  ordova,  Don  i.ouis:  in  war  with  Eng- 
land, 255 

Cornwallis,  Charles,  f .ord :  in  the  Amer- 
ican  War,  255 

Corsica:  lumexed  to  France,  236 

Conuuia:   hattle  of   (1800),  334 

Cor\etlo:   made  nu'nister  of  finance,  367 

Cotton,  l'"ather:  secures  recall  of  Jesuits 
to    I''rance,    175 

Courcellcs:  hattle  of   (1870),  464 

Court,  Admiral:  at  hattle  of  I'oulon,  238 

Courtais,  Amahle  Gaspard  Henry  de : 
ap[)oiiiti'd  conunruider  of  the  na- 
tional ^uard   of   Paris,  435 

Courtras:   hattle  of    (1587),   162 

Courtray:   hattle  of    (1302),  87 

Couthon,  (Icorges:  made  memhcr  of  the 
committee  of  safety.  285;  forms  tri- 
umvir:ite  with  Kohespierre  and 
Saint-Just,  ,289;  arrest  and  death 
of,  jgi 

Craon,  John  de,  Archbishop  of  Rheims : 
leader  of  clerical  party,  c)0 

Craon,  Teter  de :  attempts  {o  assassi- 
nate t'lisson,    108 

('r;issus  Pives,  Pul)lius  l.icinius:  his 
eampaiL^ns  in  Ciaul,  8 

(."reinieux,  Isaac  Ahi'ise:  memher  of  the 
pro\  isionid    tio\crnment.    435 

Cremona:  cai)tnrcd  hy  luiijene  of  Sa- 
\o>',    JJO 

Cretpii,  l-'rangois  de  l^inne,  Marshal  de : 
his  c;uuii;uL;ns  in  Italy.  lOi  ;  defeat- 
ed at   Cons:irbruck,   J12 

e'respy  (near  Laon).  Treaty  of  (1545). 
1-V4 

Cressy  :  b:ittle  of   (l346\  04 

Crevant-sur-Yoime :  battle  of  (1423), 
it.j 

Crevelt:   battle   of    (i75S>.  245 


Crillon-Mahon,  Louis,  Duke  of:  his 
campai/^ns   against   l^'ngland,   256 

Crimean   War,  446 

Cromwell,  Oliver:  forms  alliance  with 
rVance,  206 

Crusades,  The,  70 

Cumberland,  William  Augustus,  Duke 
of:  in  the  War  of  Austrian  Succes- 
sion, 238 ;  in  the  Seven  Years'  War, 

245 
Custine,  Adam  Philippe,  Count  of:  com- 
mands the  army  of  the  north,  285; 
death  of,  287 


D 


Dagobcrt  T,  Prankish  king:  reign  of,  31 
Dagobert  II,  Prankish  king:  sent  to  Ire- 
land, 33 ;  reign  of,  34 
Dagobert  III,   Prankish  king:  reign  of, 

35 

Dalherg,  Duke  of :  member  of  provi- 
sional government,  349 

Dambray :  made  chancellor  and  keeper 
of  the  seals,  356 

Damiens :  attempts  to  assassinate  Louis 
XV,  242 

Damietta :   captured  by  Louis  IX,  81 

IXandelot,  brother  of  Coligny:  plots 
against  the  Guises,   150 

Danton,  Georges  Jacques  :  excites  insur- 
rectioti.  270;  leader  of  the  Cordelier 
club,  272;  leader  of  the  Mountain, 
278:  death  of,  288 

Dantzig  (Danzig,  Dantzic)  :  sieges  of 
i^l.'^i^-  ^35:    (1807'),  330 

Darboy.  Georges,  Archbishop  of  Paris: 
death  of,  473 

D'Arce,  Jeanne:  see  Joan  of  Arc 

Darnoy :  introduces  compulsory  educa- 
tion bill,  454 

Daru,  Count:  made  minister  for  foreign 
atYairs.  450 

Daun,  Leop(ild  Josepli  Maria,  Count 
von  :   in  the  Seven  Years'  W^ar,  246 

Daunou,  Pierre  Claude  Frangois :  op- 
poses Napoleon,  319 

Davidovitch :  his  campaigns  against  Na- 
poleon, 301 

Davout,  Louis  Nicolas,  Duke  of  Auer- 
stiidt  and  Prince  of  Fckmiihl :  made 
marshal  of  the  empire,  322 


INDEX 


616 


Decazes,  filie:  made  minister  of  police, 
367;  made  minister  of  tlic  interior, 
370;   forms   ministry,  372 

Delacroix  :   attacked   by   mob,  284 

Denain  :  battle  of   (1712),  224 

Denis,   Saint :   martyred,   12 

Dennewitz :   battle  of    (1813).  343 

Desmoulins,  Benoit  Camille :  induces 
populace  to  arm  against  court  party, 
263,  270;  leader  of  the  C'^rdclier 
club,  272;  death  of,  288 

Despans  of  CubiC-res :  scandal  concern- 
ing, 428 

Dessoles :  made  member  of  Louis 
XVIII's  council,  355 

Dessolle,  Jean  Joseph  Paul  Augustin, 
Marquis :  ministry  of,  370 

Dettingen :  battle  of   (1743),  23S 

Didier,  king  of  the  Lombards :  at  war 
with   Charlemagne,  41 

Diego:  battle  of  (1796),  298 

Dijon:  siege  of  (1513),  U5 

Directory,  The,  297 

Donauwerth :  battle  of  (1703),  221 

Doria,  Andrea :  enters  service  of  the 
emperor,    141 ;    defeats    Barbarossa, 

143 

Douai,  Merlin  of:  made  member  of  the 
directory,  305 

Douzy:  battle  of  (1870),  464 

Dragut  (Torghud)  :  ravages  coast  of 
Italy,  147 

Dresden:  battle  of  (1813),  343 

Dreux :  battles  of  (1562),  154;  (1590), 
167 

Dubois,  Guillaume :  negotiates  alliance 
with  England,  228;  made  prime  min- 
ister, 233 

Dubouchage :  made  minister  of  marine 
affairs,  367 

Duchatel :  becomes  minister  of  trade, 
405 ;  made  minister  of  finance  in 
Mole's  cabinet,  410 

Ducos,  Roger :  made  memlier  of  the  di- 
rectory, 309;   appointed  consul,  315 

Duguay-Trouin,  Rene:  destroys  English 
commerce,  219 

Dumouriez,  Charles  Frangois :  member 
of  ministry,  273 ;  his  campaigns  in 
the  Franco-Austrian  War,  276;  joins 
Austrians,  283 

Dunes,  Battle  of  the   (1658),  206 

Dunkirk:  siege  of  (1793),  286 


L')unois,  Count  of,  son  of  John  of  Or- 
leans :  rebels  against  Anne  of  Bcau- 
jeu,   127 

Dupcrre,  Victor  Guy :  his  expedition 
against  Algiers.  389 

Dupetit-Thouar^,  Abel  Aubert :  takes 
possession  of  the  Society  Lslands 
for  France,  422 

Duphot,  General :  death  of,  306 

Dupin,  Charles :  his  relations  to  the  rev- 
olution of   1830,  391 

Dupin,  Jean  Henri:  his  relations  to  the 
revolution  of   1830,  391 

Dupleix,  Joseph  Frangois,  Marquis  of: 
his  career  in  India,  240,  242 

Duplessis-Praslin :  defeats  Turenne  at 
Rethel,  203 

Dupont  de  I'Etang,  Count  Pierre :  made 
minister  of  war,  356 

Dupont  de  I'Eure,  Charles  Jacques : 
keeper  of  the  seals,  396;  member  of 
the  provisional  government,  435 

Duport-Dutertre :   death  of,  287 

Duprat:  advises  sale  of  offices  of  the 
magistracy,  138;  plans  union  of 
Brittany  with   France,   141 

Duras,  Jacques  Henri  de  Durfort,  Duke: 
his  campaign  in  Germany,  217 

Durfort,  Henry  of:  his  campaign  in 
Germany,  217 

Duvergier  de  Hauranne,  Prosper:  op- 
poses Mole's  ministry,  415;  opposes 
Guizot's  ministry,  431 


East  India  Company,  French :  organ- 
ized, 214 

Eastern  Question,  The,  445 

I^broin  :  mayor  of  the  palace,  34;  death 
of,  35 

Eckmiihl :  battle  of  (1809),  335 

]\cluse:  battle  of   (1340),  93 

Edgeworth  of  Firmont,  Henry  Essex : 
attends  Louis  XVI,  281 

Edward  I,  king  of  England  :  his  differ- 
ences with  Philip  HI  of  France,  87 

Edward  II,  king  of  England:  persecutes 
the  Templars,  89 

Edward  III,  king  of  England:  claims 
French  crown,  92 

Edward  IV,  king  of  England :  invades 
France,   124 


516 


INDEX 


Edward,  the  Black  Piince:  at  battle  of 

Cressy,  94 
El-Arisch,  Convention  of   (iSoi),  317 
Elbee,    Gigot    d' :    supports    insurrection 

in  the  Vendee,  283 
Elchingen:  battle  of  (1805),  326 
Eleanor  of  Aquitaine :  marries  Louis  VI 

of  France,  ^2;  marries  Henry  Plan- 

tagenet,  74 
Electoral   Law,    (1817),   369 
Elgin,  James  Bruce,  Earl  of:  his  expe- 
dition to  China,  451 
Eliott  (Elliot),  George  Augustus,  Baron 

Heatherfield :  defends  Gibraltar,  256 
Elizabeth,     daughter    of    Francis     I     of 

France:  marries  Philip  II  of  Spain, 

149 
Elizabeth,  Princess  of  France :  death  of : 

289 
Empire  of  Napoleon  I,  The,  324 
Empire  of  Napoleon  III,  The,  445 
Enghien,  Louis  Antoine  Henri  de  Bour- 

bon-Conde,  Duke  of:  death  of,  321 
Enghien,   Louis   of   Bourbon,    Duke    of : 

see  Conde,  Louis  of  Bourbon,  Prince 

of 
Ensheim:  battle  of   (1674),  211 
Entragues,  Count  of:  conspiracy  of,  174 
Entragues,   Henrietta   d' :    see   Verneuil, 

Henrietta  d'Entragues,  Marquise  of 
Epernon,  Jean  Louis  de  Nogaret  de  la 

Valette,  Duke  of:  leader  of  discon- 
tented   nobles,    172;    conspires    with 

Marie  de'  Medici,  180 
Epremesnil,    Duval    of:    arrest   of,    259; 

death  of,  289 
Erfurt,  Treaty  of  (1808),  334 
Erkinvald :   made  mayor  of  the  palace, 

33 

Erlon :   at  battle   of  Waterloo,   363 

Ermanfroi :  kills  Ebroin,  35 

Ermengarde,  queen  of  Louie  the  Pious : 
plots  against  Bernard  of  Italy,  47; 
death  of,  48 

Espinosa :  battle  of   (1808),  334 

Essling:  battle  of   (1809),  335 

Estaing,  Charles  Hector,  Count  of:  com- 
mands fleet  to  aid  'American  colo- 
nies, 254 

Estrees,  Louis  le  Tellicr,  Count  of: 
president  of  the  council  of  marine 
affairs,  227;  in  the  Seven  Years' 
War,  24s 


Etampes  :  battle  of  (ca.  600  a.d.).  30 

Etaples,  Treaty  of  (1492),  129 

Eu,  Count  d' :  execution  of,  96 

Eudes,  king  of  France :  defends  Paris, 
53 ;  elected  king,  53 

Eudes,  Duke  of  Toulouse  and  Aqui- 
taine: rebellion  of,  36;  at  war  with 
Charles  Martel,  36 

Eugene  of  Savoy,  Prince :  his  campaigns 
against  the  French,  218;  his  cam- 
paigns in  the  War  of  Spanish  Suc- 
cession, 220 

Eugenie  Marie  of  Montijo:  marries  Na- 
poleon III  of  France,  445 

Evangelical  Union,   175 

Evans,  Sir  George  De  Lacy:  his  serv- 
ices in  the  Spanish  cause,  410 

Evreux :  battle  of   (1364),  103 

Eylau:  battle  of  (1807),  330 


Fabius  Maximus,  Quintus,  surnamed 
Allobrogicus  :  his  campaign  in  Gaul,  7 

P'abre  d'Eglantine,  Philippe  Frangois 
Nazaire :  leader  of  the  Cordelier 
club,  272;  death  of,  288 

Failly,  Pierre  Louis  Charles  Achille  de: 
in  the  Franco-Prussian  War,  463 

Family  Treaty  or  Compact    (1761),  247 

Farnese,  Alexander:  see  Paul  III,  Pope 

Farnese,  Alexander,  Duke  of  Parma : 
his  campaigns  in  France,  167 

Farnese,  Ottavio,  Duke  of  Parma :  at 
war  with  Pope  Julius  III  and  Em- 
peror Charles  V,  145 

Faur,  Louis  of :  persecution  of,  149 

Favorite:  battle  of   (1797),  302 

Favre,  Gabriel  Claude  Jules :  in  the  elec- 
tions of  1869,  458 ;  proclaims  the 
third  republic,  466;  made  a  member 
of   the   provisional   government,   467 

Fehre,  Henri  Jacques  Guillaume  Clarke, 
Duke  of:  made  minister  of  war,  360; 
minister  of  war,  367 

Ferdinand  I,  Holy  Roman  emperor :  ac- 
cession of,  147 

Ferdinand  II,  Holy  Roman  emperor :  ac- 
cession of,  189;  death  of,  192 

Ferdinand  III,  Holy  Roman  emperor: 
his  campaigns  in  the  Thirty  Years' 
War,  190 


INDEX 


517 


Ferdinand  TT,  king  of  Naples  and  Sicily. 

flees  before  Charles  VIII  of  ]'>aiu-e, 

131 
Ferdinand     (V)    the    Catholic,    kini^    of 

Spain:       concludes      alliance      with 

Louis  XTT  of  France,  1,13 
Ferdinand   VII,    king   of    Spain:    acces- 
sion of,  332 
Ferdinand,    Archduke    of    Aiistria:    his 

campaigns  against  France,  325 
Ferdinand  of  Brunswick :   in  the   Seven 

Years'  War,  245 
Ferrand,    Count    of    Flanders :    at    war 

with  Philip  Augustus  of  France,  76 
Ferrol :  battle  of   (1805),  325 
Ferry.    Jules    Frangois    Camille :    in    the 

elections   of    i86g,   458;    minister   of 

public  instruction,  482;   ministry  of, 

483 

Field  of  the  Cloth  of  Gold,   137 

Fieschi  Plot,  The   (1835),  408 

Filingshausen :  battle  of   (1761),  247 

Fleix,   Peace  of   (1580),   161 

Fleurus :  battles  of  (1690),  21S;  (1704), 
2go 

Fleury,  General :  assists  schemes  of  Na- 
poleon TIT,  442 

Fleury,  Andre  ilercule  de.  Bishop  of 
Frejus:    member    of   king's    council, 

234 
Fleury,     Joly     of:     made     minister     of 

finance,  257 
Flour  Battle,  ^The   (1590).  ifxS 
Flushing:  siege  of  (1809),  336 
Foix,    Count   de:    revolts   against   Louis 

IX,  80 
Foix,  Gaston  de,  Duke  of  Nemours:  his 

successes  in  Italy,   134 
Fontainebleau,   Treaty   of    (1807),   332 
Fontaine-FranQaise :     battle     of     (1595), 

170 
Fontenay:  battle  of   (843   a.d.),  50 
Fontenoy:  battle  of   (1745),  239 
Forcade  de  la  Roquette:   made  minister 

of  the   interior,   459 
Force,  Marcjuis  of:  defends  Montauban, 

181 
Forest,     Pierre     de     la.     Archbishop    of 

Rouen:    opens    the    Fstates    (135s), 

96 
Forey,  Tllie  Frederic:  assists  schemes  (ii 

Napoleon  III.  442;  his  campaign  in 

Mexico,  453 


Formigny :  battle  of  (1453).  118 

I'ornovo:  battle  of  (1405),  131 

b'ort     Saint     Jean     d'Ulloa:     siege     of 

(1837),  413 
I'ouche,  Joseph,  Duke  of  Otranto :  be- 
comes minister  of  police  in  Napo- 
leon's council,  361 ;  made  minister 
of  police,  365 ;  member  of  provi- 
sional government,  365 
Fould,     Achille:     becomes     minister     (jf 

finance,  452 
I'oulon  :  made  member  of  council,  263 
Foucjuet,   Nicolas:  arrest  and   imprison- 
ment of,  207 
Fouquier-Tinville,      Antoine       Quentin : 

death  of.  292 
France,  History  of:  independent  Ga\il 
and  Roman  Gaul,  3 ;  the  Germanic 
invasions  and  the  Merovingian  king- 
doms, 15 ;  the  empire  af  Charle- 
magne, 40 ;  feudal  France.  63 :  reac- 
tion against  feudalism:  Philip  Au- 
gustus and  Philip  the  Fair,  75;  the 
Hundred  Years'  War,  92;  Joan  of 
Arc  and  the  liberation  of  France, 
IT4;  territorial  unity  and  wars  in 
Italy,  121  ;  the  Reformation  and  the 
Huguenot  wars,  145;  Henry  IV  and 
the  reorganization  of  France,  Tfi6; 
Richelieu  and  the  Thirty  Years' 
War,  183;  Louis  XIV  and  the  su- 
premacy of  France  in  Europe,  199; 
Louis  XIV  and  the  decline  of  the 
French  power  in  Europe.  216;  the 
struggle  against  arbitrary  power 
luider  Louis  XV,  227;  the  constitu- 
tional monarchy,  253;  the  fall  of  the 
monarchy,  272;  the  First  Republic, 
278;  the  directory  and  the  rise  of 
Napoleon  Bonaparte,  297 ;  the  con- 
sulate, 315;  the  empire  of  Napoleon 
I,  324;  fall  of  the  empire,  340;  the 
restoration  of  the  Bourbons,  355 ; 
the  reaction  under  Charles  X  and 
the  revolution  of  1830,  374;  the 
monarchy  of  the  property  class,  394 ; 
Guizot's  ministry  and  the  revolution 
of  1848.  415;  the  Second  Republic, 
435;  the  empire  of  Napoleon  III, 
445 ;  the  Third  Republic.  467 
Francis  II.  Holy  Roman  emperor:  abdi- 
cates imperial  title,  327 
Francis     (I)     of     Angouleme,    king    of 


518 


INDEX 


France :  marries  Claude,  133 ;  death 
of,  136 

Francis  II,  king  of  I'rance :  reign  of.  149 

Francis  II,  Duke  of  Brittany:  see  Brit- 
tany,  Francis   II,  Duke  of 

Francis  of  Bourbon,  Duke  of  Enghien : 
wins  battle  of  Cerisoles,  144 

Francois,  Duke  of  Anjou  :  joins  Protes- 
tants, 159;  his  campaign  against  the 
Protestants  (1577),  160;  death  of, 
161 

Frankfort,  Treaty  of  (1871),  469 

Frankfurt,  Council  of   (794  a.d.),  43 

Franklin,  Benjamin:  solicits  aid  from 
France  for  the  colonies,  254 

Franks:  sketch  of,  15 

Fredegonda:  marries  Chilperic,  27 

Frederic  I,  king  of  Denmark  and  Nor- 
way: grants  freedom  of  conscience 
to  Denmark,  142 

Frederic,  king  of  Naples :  reign  of,  133 

Frederick  (I)  Barbarossa,  emperor  of 
Germany:  joins  crusaders,  75 

Frederick  II,  Holy  Roman  emperor: 
reign  of,  84 

Frederick  III,  Holy  Roman  emperor: 
requests  aid  from  Charles  VII  of 
France,  118 

Frederick  I,  king  of  Prussia  (III,  elector 
of  Brandenburg)  :  his  campaign 
against  the  French  (1689),  217 

Frederick  II,  king  of  Prussia:  claims 
Silesia,  236;  in  the  Seven  Years' 
War,  244 

Frederick  V,  elector  Palatine :  attempts 
to  accept  crown  of  Bohemia,  189 

Frederick  Augustus,  king  of  Poland : 
accession  of,  235 

Frederick  Charles,  Prince  of  Prussia: 
in  the  Franco-Prussian  War,  463 

Frederick  William,  king  of  Prussia :  at 
war  with  Napoleon,  328 

Freiburg:  battle  of  (1643),  199 

P'rench  Revolution,  The,  251 

Freytag:  his  campaign  against  the  allied 
forces,  286 

Friedland:  battle  of  (1807),  331 

Friedlingen:   battle  of    (1703),  221 

Friends  of  the  Constitution,  The:  or- 
ganized, 269 

Frossard,  Charles  Auguste:  in  the 
Franco-Prussian  War,  463 

Fuentes  d'Onora:  battle  of   (1811),  339 


Gabrielle  d'Estrees,  Duchess  of  Beau- 
fort :  her  relations  with  Henry  IV 
of   France,    171 

Gaileswintha,  wife  of  Chilperic :  sketch 
of,  27 

Galissoniere  (Gallissoniere),  Roland 
Michel  Barrin,  Marquis  de  la:  de- 
feats English  at  Minorca,  244 ; 
made  member  of  cabinet,  263 

Gallas,  IMatthias  von :  his  campaign  in 
the  Thirty  Years'  War,  191 

Gambetta,  Leon :  in  the  elections  of 
1869,  458;  proclaims  the  third  re- 
public, 466;  escapes  from  Paris, 
468;  opposes  Thier's  government, 
475;  ministry  of,  482;  death  of,  483 

Garat,  Dominique  Joseph :  opposes  Na- 
poleon, 319 

Garibaldi,  Giuseppe:  defends  Rome,  439 

Garigliano:  battle  of    (1504),   133 

Garnier-Pages,  Louis  Antoine :  made 
mayor  of  Paris,  435 ;  fined,  454 ;  in 
the  elections  of  1869,  458; 

Gasparin,  Adrien  fitienne  Pierre,  Count : 
made  minister  of  the  interior  in 
]\Iole's  cabinet,  410 

Gassion,  Colonel :  suppresses  insurrec- 
tion in  Normandy,  193 

Gaston,  Duke  of  Orleans:  see  Orleans, 
Jean  Baptise  Gaston,  Duke  of 

Gates,  Horatio :  his  campaign  against 
Cornwallis,  255 

Gaudet,  Marguerite  £lie:  leads  Giron- 
dist party,  272;  incites  insurrection 
in  the  departments,  284 

Gaudin,  Martin  IMichel  Charles,  Duke 
of  Gaeta:  his  financial  reforms,  319 

Genoa:  bombarded  (1683-1684),  213; 
siege  of  (i799),  3i6 

Gensonne,  Armand :  leads  Girondist 
party,   272 

Gerard:  becomes  minister  of  public  in- 
struction, 401 ;   ministry   of,  406 

Gergovia     (Clermont)  :     siege     of     (52 

B.C.),    ID 

Gibraltar:  taken  by  the  English   (1704), 

221;  siege  of  (1782),  256 
God,  Pea'je  of:  published,  68 
God,  Truce  of:  published,  68 
Godfrey  of  Bouillon:   leads  crusade,  70 
Godoy,  Manuel  de :   influence  of,  332 


INDEX 


519 


Gohier,  L.  Jerome :  made  member  of  the 
directory,  309 

Gomez :  attempts  to  assassinate  Napo- 
leon III,  449 

Gondebaud,  king  of  Burgundy :  at  war 
with  Clovis,   19 

Gondelour:   siege  of    (1783),  257 

Gondemar,  king  of  Burgundy :  defeats 
Clodomir,   24 

Gondevald :   rebellion  of,  29 

Gondi,  Paul  of.  Cardinal  of  Rctz :  be- 
comes leader  of  parliamentary  par- 
ty, 201 ;  removes  Condc  from  power, 
203 ;  arrested,  206 

Gonzaga,  Charles  de,  Duke  of:  revolt 
of,  178;  becomes  Duke  of  ^vlantua 
and   Montfcrrat,   186 

Gonzalvo  of  Cordova :  his  campaign  in 
Italy,  133 

Goritz:  battle  of   (1809),  336 

Goslin,    Bishop    of    Paris :    saves    Paris, 

53 

Goudchaux:   member  of  the  provisional 

government,  435 
Grammont,  Duke  of:  made  minister  for 

foreign  affairs,  461 
Granada:  siege  of   (1810).  3,^7 
Grandella:  battle  of   (1266),  84 
Grandson:  siege  of   (1476),   124 
Grant,     Sir     Hope:     his    expedition     to 

China,  451 
Grasse,  Franqois  Joseph  Paul  dc :  in  the 

American  War,  256 
Gravelines:  battle  of  (iSSS),  148 
Gravelottc:  battle  of  (1870),  464 
Greeks :  settle  in  France,  4 
Gregoire,    Abbe    Henri :    opposes    Napo- 
leon, 319 
Gregory    IV,    Pope :    attempts   to   recon- 
cile  Louis   the   Pious   and   his   sons, 
48 
Gregory  V,  Pope  :  excommunicates  Rob- 
ert II  of  France,  67 
Gregory  VII,  Pope:  reforms  of,  69 
Gregory  X,  Pope  :  character  of,  85 
Gregory  XI,  Pope :  death  of,  105 
Gregory  XIV,  Pope :  supports  claims  of 

Charles  of  (niise,  168 
Gregory  XVI,   P(ipc :   promises  to  make 

reforms  in  tlie  Pa])al  slates,  309 
Grenada,  Treaty  of   (1500),  133 
Grenicr :  member  of  provisional  govern- 
ment, 365 


(jrcvy,    Jules,    President    of   the    French 

Republic :  presidency  of,  481 
Grinioald,    son    of    Pippin    of    Landen : 

made  mayor  of  the  palace,  33 
Grinioald,    son    of    Pippin    of    Heristal: 

made  mayor  of  the  palace,  36 
Gros :  his  expedition  to  China,  451 
Grosbeercn  :  battle  of   (1813),  343 
Guadet:  see  Gaudet 
Guastalla  :  battle  of  (1734).  236 
Gudstadt:  battle  of  (1807).  331 
Guebriant :   his  campaigns  in  the  Thirty 

Years'   War,   194 
Guerande,  Treaty  of   (1365),   103 
Guesclin,   Bertrand  du  :  career  of,   102 
Guignes:   battle  of   (1814),  346 
Guincgate:      battles      of      (1479),      125; 

_  (15 13),   135 

Guines,  Treaty  of  (1547),  144 

Guise,  Charle  sof  Lorraine.  Duke  of:  sec 
Lorraine,  Charles  of,  Duke  of  (kn'se 

Guise,  l'"rancois  of  Lorraine,  Duke  of : 
see  Lorraine,  Francois,  Duke  of 
Gui.--c 

Guise,  Henry  of  Lorraine,  Duke  of:  sec 
Henry  of  Guise 

Guizot,  FraTK''»is  Pierre  Guillaumc: 
leader  of  tiic  doctrinaires,  27- ;  <-''^- 
ters  parliamentary  life,  389;  his  re- 
lation to  the  re\-olution  of  1830,  391; 
made  minister  of  the  interior,  3[)(i; 
in  Soult's  ministry,  402;  made  min- 
ister of  public  instruction  in  Alole's 
cabinet,  410;  ministry  of,  415 

Gnnthram,   Prankish   king:   reign   of,   26 

Giinzburg:  battle  of   (1805),  326 

Gustavus  (I)  \\asa,  king  of  Sweden: 
adheres  to  the  Augsburg  Confession, 
142 

Gustavus  (II)  Adolphus,  king  of  Swe- 
den: his  campaigns  in  the  Thirty 
Years'  War,  190 


H 


Hanau  :  battle  of   (1813),  343 
lianover.  Treaty  of   (1725),  234 
Ilanriot  (Ileuriot)  :  arrest  and  death  of, 

291 
Ilarcourt,    Count   of    (d.    1355)  :    execu- 
tion of,  97 


520 


INDEX 


Harcourt,  Henry  of  Lorraine,  Count  of: 
see  Lorraine,  Henry  of,  Count  of 
Harcourt 

Harfleur:  siege  of  (i4iS)>  m 

Harold,  king  of  England :  defeated  by 
William  the  Conqueror,  68 

Hasslach:  battle  of  (1805),  326 

Hastenbeck:  battle  of  (i7S7),  245 

Hastings:  battle  of  (1066),  68 

Hincmar,  Archbishop  of  Rheims:  mas- 
ter of  Gaul,  51 

Hebert,  Jacques  Rene :  death  of,  288 

Heilsburg:  battle  of   (1807),  331 

Helen  Louise  of  Mecklcnburg-Schwerin  : 
marries  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  414; 
appointed  regent  of  France,  434 

Heliopolis:  battle  of  (1801),  318 

Helvetians :  defeated  by  Csssar,  8 

Henries,  War  of  the  Three,  161 

Hcnriot:  see  Hanriot 

Henry  (I)  the  Fowler,  Holy  Roman 
emperor :  at  war  with  Rodolph  of 
France,  55 

Henry  IV,  Holy  Roman  emperor :  at 
war  with  the  Pope,  6g 

Henry  VI,  Holy  Roman  emperor :  im- 
prisons Richard  Cceur  de  Lion,  76 

Henry  (II)  of  Transtamare,  king  of 
Castile:  accession  of,  103 

Henry  I,  king  of  England :  at  war  with 
Louis  VI  of  France,  72 

Henry  II,  king  of  England :  marries 
Eleanor  of  Aquitaine,  74;  death  of, 
75 

Henry  III,  king  of  England:  at  war 
with  Louis  IX  of  France,  80 

Henry  V,  king  of  England :  invades 
France,  iii;  death  of,  113 

Henry  VI,  king  of  England  and  France : 
accession  of,  113 

Henry  VII,  king  of  England :  besieges 
Boulogne,  129 

Henry  VIII,  king  of  England:  at  the 
Field  of  the  Cloth  of  Gold,  137; 
forms  alliance  with  Francis  I  of 
France,  141 ;  declared  head  of  An- 
glican church,  142 

Henry  T,  king  of  France:  reign  of,  67 

Henry  TI,  king  of  France:  marries  Cath- 
erine dc'  Medici,  142 ;  reign  of, 
T45 

Henry  III,  king  of  France:  at  the  battle 
of    Jarnac,    156;    becomes    king    of 


Poland,  158;  reign  of  as  king  of 
France,  155 

Henry  (IV)  of  Navarre,  king  of  France: 
becomes  champion  of  religious  free- 
dom in  France,  156;  marries  Mar- 
garet  of   Valois,   157:   reign   of,    166 

Henry  d'Albret,  king  of  Navarre :  taken 
prisoner  at  Pavia,  139 

Henry  of  Guise:  plots  to  obtain  throne 
of  France,  160;  acknowledged  as 
heir  to  the  throne,  161 ;  death  of, 
164 

Herbert,  Count  of  Vermandois :  at  war 
with  Hugh  the  Great,  54;  makes 
alliance  with  Hugh  the  Great,  56 

Herrings,  Battle  of  the   (1429),  114 

Hervilly,  Count  of :  joins  allied  forces, 
294 

Hoche,  Lazare :  his  campaign  in  the 
west,   297 

Hocquincourt,  Charles  de  Monchy,  Mar- 
shal de :  in  insurrection  of  the 
Fronde,  204 

Hohenlindcn :  battle  of   (1800),  317 

Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen,  Prince  Freder- 
ick Louis  of:  defeated  at  Jena. 
328 

Holy  Alliance,  The    (1815),  374 

Holy  League,  The  (1511),  134 

Holy  League,  The  (1526),  140 

Hondtschoote :  battle  of   (1793),  286 

Honorius,  Emperor  of  the  West:  reign 
of,   16 

Hood,  Samuel,  Viscount :  his  campaign 
in  France,  285 

Hooghlede :  battle  of   (1794),  290 

Houchard,  Jean  Nicolas :  commands 
army  of  the  north,  286;  death  of, 
287 

Howe,  Richard,  Earl  Howe :  at  siege  of 
Gibraltar,  256 

Hugh  the  Great  or  White,  Duke  of 
France :  career  of,  54 ;  excommuni- 
cated, 57 

Hugh  Capet,  king  of  France :  becomes 
Duke  of  France  and  Count  of  Paris, 
58;  accession  of,  to  throne,  59;  reign 
of,  62, 

Hugh  of  Bcauvais :  murder  of,  67 

Hughes,  Sir  Edward :  at  battle  of  Gon- 
delour,  257 

Humann :  in  Soult's  ministry,  402 

Hundred  Years'  War,  92 


I  N  D  i:  X 


521 


Hunold,  Duke  r)f  Aqnitaine:  reign  of, 
40 

Hyder  AH  Khan :  at  war  with  the  Eng- 
lish, 256 

T,  J,  K 

Ibrahim  Pasha :  revolt  of,  403 
Indutiomarus,   chief   of   the    'J'reviri :    at 

war  with  Rome,  9 
Inkerman  :  battle  of   (1854),  447 
Innocent     IV,     Pope :     excommunicates 

John  of  England,  76 
Innocent    XI,    Pope:    his    struggle    with 

Louis  XIV  of  France,  213 
Innocent   XIII,    Pope:   makes   Dubois  a 

cardinal,   233 
Investitures,  War  of,  6q 
Irenjeus,  Saint,  Bishop  of  Lyons:  builds 

up  the  church  at  Lyons,  12 
Isabella  II,  queen  of  Spain :  driven  from 

her  throne,  461 
Isabella  of  France,  queen  of  I'^dward   II 

of  England :  character  of,  89 
Isabelle    of    Bavaria,    queen    of    I'rance : 

character   of,    109;    made    regent    of 

France,  112 
Isly:  battle  of  the   (1844),  423 
Isnard,  Maximin :  leads  Girondist  party, 

272;  opposes  Napoleon,  319 
Jacquerie,  Rising  of  the,  loi 
James    II,    king    of    England :    deposed, 

217;   attempts  to  regain  his   crown, 

218 
James  IV,  king  of  Scotland:   death   of, 

135 

Jancourt,  De :  member  of  the  provi- 
sional government,  349 

January:  Edict  of   (1562),   153 

Jarnac:  battle  of  (1569),  156 

Jeanne  d'Albret,  queen  of  Navarre :  de- 
clared to  have  forfciterl  her  royal 
dignity,    155;    leads    Protestants,    156 

Jeannin:  draws  up  the  Edict  of  Nantes, 
171 

Jemappes:  battle  of  (1792),  279 

Jena:  battle  of  (1806),  328 

Jesuits:  expelled  from  PYance  (1594), 
170;  recalled  to  France  (1603),  175; 
suppressed  in  France  (1764),  247; 
forbidden  to   instruct   children,   387 

Jews:  persecuted  by  Philip  V  of  France, 
90;  expelled  from  France,  109 


Joan  of  Arc:  career  ryf.   114 

John,  king  of  luigland  :  revolts  against 
Henry   II,  75;   accession  of,  76 

Jojm  II.  king  of  I'Vance :  reign  of,  95 

John  (IV)  of  Braganza,  king  of  Por- 
tugal :  accession  of,  193 

John,  Archduke  of  Austria :  his  cam- 
paigns against  the  French,  317, 
325 

John  (I)  the  Fearless,  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy: his  campaigns  against  the 
Turks,  109;  procures  assa'^sination 
of  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  no;  at  war 
with  the  Count  of  Armagnac,  no; 
at  battle  of  Azincourt.   in 

John  II,  Duke  of  Burgundy:  claims 
guardianship  of  Charles  VIII  of 
France,   126 

John  of  Gaunt,  Duke  of  Lancaster :  in- 
vades France.   104 

John  of  Leyden  :  leads  uprising  of  Ana- 
baptists,  142 

Joinville,  Frangois  Ferdinand  Philippe 
Louis  Marie  d'Orleans,  Prince  of: 
his  expedition  against  Mexico,  413; 
his  campaign  in  Algiers,  423 

Joseph  I,  Holy  Roman  emperor:  carries 
on  the  War  of  Spanish  Succession, 
222 ;  death  of,  224 

Joseph  of  Navaro :  at  battle  of  Toulon. 
238 

Josephine,  empress  of  tlie  French : 
crowned,  s~3  '>   Napoleon   repudiates, 

Jourdan,  Count  Jean  Baptistc:  his  cam- 
paign against  the  allied  forces,  287; 
made  marslial  of  the  empire,  322 

Jourdan,  Camillc  :  leader  of  the  doctrin- 
aires, 371 

Joyeuse,  Anne,  Viscount  de  :  at  battle  of 
Courtras,    162 

Juarez,  Benito  Pablo;  at  war  with  the 
French,  453 

Julian  the  Apostate,  emperor  of  Rome : 
his  campaign  in  Gaul,  14 

Juliers:  siege  of   (i6to),   177 

Julius  II,  Pope:  favors  Spaniarrls  in 
Italy.  133:  death  of,  135 

Julius  HI,  Pope:  at  war  with  the  Duke 
of  Parma,  145 

July,  I'.dict  of  (1561),  152 

Junot.  Andoche:  his  campaign  in  Portu- 
gal, 33^ 


522 


INDEX 


Karltnann,  son  of  Pippin  I  and  king  of 
the  Franks :  reign  of,  41 

Karlmann  (d.  884),  Prankish  king: 
reign  of,  52 

Karlmann,  son  of  Charles  Martel :  ca- 
reer of,  38 

Katzbach:  battle  of  (1813),  343 

Kellermann,  Frangois  Christophe :  his 
campaigns  in  the  Franco-Austrian 
War,  276;  at  battle  of  Waterloo,  363 

Kempen :  battle  of  (1641),  194 

Keppel,  Augustus,  Viscount:  in  battle 
with  Orvillicrs,  254 

Kleber,  Jean  B:iptiste :  commands  army 
in  Egypt.  3T0;  concludes  the  Con- 
vention of  El-Arisch,  317 

Klostcrscven,  Convention  of  (i7S7),  245 

Kolin:  battle  of  (1757),  245 

Konieh:  battle  of  (1832),  403 

Koniggratz:  battle  of  (1866),  455 

Korbach:  battle  of  (1760),  246 

Kraminski,  General :  his  campaign 
against  Napoleon,  329 

Krasnoe:  battle  of  (1812),  341 

Kra3%  Paul,  Baron  of  Krajowa:  his  cam- 
paign against  the  French,  316 

Kulm:  battle  of  (1813),  343 

Kutusoff  (Kutusov),  Mikhail  Ilariono- 
vitch  Golenishtcheff :  at  battle  of 
Borodino,  341 


La     Bedoyere,     Count     Charles     Ange- 

lique  de :  death  of,  368 
La  Bourdonnais   (Labourdonnaie),  Ber- 

trand  Frangois  Mahe  de :  his  career 

in  India.  240 
La    Feuillade,    Count    of:    at    battle    of 

Saint-Gothard,  208 
La  Hogue :  battle  of  (1692),  219 
La    Meilleraye :    his    campaigns    in    the 

Thirty  Years'  War,  194 
La  None:  battle  of  (1589),  165 
La    Reveillere-Lepeaux,    Louis     Marie: 

appointed  member  of  the  directory, 

296 
La    Rochejacquclin,    Henry    du    Verger, 

Count :  supports  insurrection  in  the 

Vendee,  283 
La  Rothicre:  battle  of  (1814),  345 
La  Rotta:  battle  of  (1639),  193 


La  Tour  d'Auvergne:  made  minister 
for  foreign  afifairs,  459 

La  Tremouille,  Louis  U,  Sire  de :  his 
campaign  against  the  rebel  princes, 
128;  besieges  Novara,  132 

La  Tremoville,  Duke  of:  leader  of  dis- 
contented nobles,  172 

La  Vauguyon,  Duke  of:  made  member 
of  council,  263 

Lacave-Laplagne :  made  minister  of 
finance,  412 

Lacroix  :  death  of,  288 

Ladies'   Peace    (1529),   T41 

Ladmiraidt,  Louis  Rene  Paul  de :  in  the 
I'ranco-Prussian  War,  463 

Lafayette,  Marie  Jean  Paul  Roch  Yves 
Gilbert  du  Motier,  Marquis  of:  elect- 
ed vice-president  of  the  national  as- 
sembly, 264;  at  the  Champ  de  Mars, 
268;  his  campaign  in  Belgium,  273; 
leads  constitutional  party,  358;  his 
relation   to   the   revolution   of    1830, 

391 

Laffitte,  Jacques  :  his  relation  to  the  rev- 
olution of  1830.  39T ;  ministry  of,  397 

Laine,  Joseph  Henry  Zoachim,  Viscount : 
made  minister  of  the  interior,  367 ; 
admitted  to  the  council,  375 

Lake  Maggiore:  battle  of  (1636),  192 

Lally,  Thomas  Arthur,  Count  of :  his 
campaign  in  India,  246 

Lally-Tollendal,  Trophime  Gerard,  Mar- 
quis of :  urges  nobles  to  resume  their 
seats  in  the  assembly,  203 

Lamarque,  Maximilien,  Count :  his  cam- 
paign in  the  Vendee,  361 ;  funeral  of, 
402 

Lamartine,  Alphonse  Marie  Louise:  op- 
poses Guizot's  foreign  policy,  430; 
member  of  the  provisional  govern- 
ment, 435 

Lamballe,  Marie  Thercse  Louise  de  Sa- 
voic-Carignan  de,  Princess  de  :  death 
of,  276 

Lamoignon :  keeper  of  the  seals,  258 

Lamoriciere,  Christophe  Leon  Louis 
Juchault  de :  his  campaign  in  Al- 
giers, 429;  arrest  of,  441 

Lancaster,  John,  Duke  of:  see  John  of 
Gaunt,  Duke  of  Lancaster 

Landais:  influence  of,  127;  death  of,  12S 

Landrecies  :  siege  of  (1794),  289 

Landriano:  battle  of  (1528),  141 


I  N  D  E  X 


523 


Lanjuinais,  Jean  Denis,  Count:  pleads 
for  Louis  XVI's  life.  2S1  ;  incites  in- 
surrection in  the  departments,  284; 
opposes  Napoleon,  319;  leads  consti- 
tutional party,  358 

Lannes,  Jean  :  made  marshal  of  the  em- 
pire, 322 ;  at  battle  of  Pultusk,  329 

Laon:  battle  of  (1814),  347 

Latour-]\Iaubourg,  Charles  Fay,  Mar- 
quis  of:   becomes   minister   of   war, 

Laudon,  Baron  Gideon  F.rnst  von:  in  the 
Seven  Years'  A\'ar,  246 

Lautrec,  Marshal  de :  bis  campaign  in 
Italy,  141 

Laverdi :  death  of,  289 

Lavoisier,  Antoine  Laurent :  death  of, 
289 

Law,  John :  schemes  of,  229 

Lawfeld:  battle  of  (1747),  240 

Le  Brun  (Lebrun),  Charles  Francjois: 
appointed  consul,  315;  made  arch- 
treasurer  of  the  empire,  322 

Le  Tellier,  Michel:  minister  of  war,  207 

Le  Tourneur:  appointed  member  of  the 
directory,  296,  303 

League  of  the  Public  Good,  122 

Lebas,  Philippe  Franqoi.^ :  arrest  and 
death  of,  291 

Lebfcuf,  Fxlmond :  becomes  minister  of 
war,  459 

Lech:  battle  of   (1631),  190 

Leconte,  Claude  Tvlartin:  captured  by  th.e 
commune,  470 

Lcdru-Rollin,  Alexandre  Auguste  :  mem- 
ber of  the  provisional  government, 
435 ;  attempts  to  incite  insurrection 
in  Paris,  439 

Leflo,  Adolphe  lumnanuel  Charles:  ar- 
rest of,  441 

Lcger,  Bishop  of  Autun:  rebellion  of,  34 

Legion  of  Honor,  Order  of:  established, 
310 

Legnano  :  battle  f>f  (179(1),  300 

Leipsic:  battles  of  (1(^.30.  'QO;  (1813), 
343 

Lemaitre,  John:  presents  wishes  of  the 
Parlement  to  Mayenne,   108 

Lens:  battle  of   (164S),  200 

Leo  ITT,  Pope:  implores  aid  from  Char- 
lemagne. 44 

Leo  X,  Pope  :  accession  of,  135 

Leoben,  Treaty  of   (1797),  303 


Leopold  T.  king  of  Belgium:  acce>>ion 
of,  399 

Leopold,  Duke  of  Austria:  betrays  Rich- 
ard Canir  de  Lion,  76 

Lerida:  battles  of  (1642),  194;  (1646), 
199 

Lescure,  Louis  Marie,  Marquis  de  :  sup- 
ports insurrcctioi;  in  the  Vendee,  283 

Lesdiguieres,  Constable:  conversion  of, 
182 

Lestocq,  Count  Johann  Hermann:  his 
campaign   against   Napoleon,  329 

Leuthen  :  battle  of   (1757).  245 

Leuze:  battle  of   (1691),  218 

Liege:  revolt  of,  123 

Liegnitz:  battle  of  (1760).  246 

Li^ny:  battle  of  (  1815).  362 

Lions.  Treaty  of  (i6or).  172 

Lobau,  George  Mouton.  Count  of:  at 
liattle  of  Waterloo.  ■r.U}, 

Lobositz  :  b.attle  of   (1756),  244 

Lodi,  Bridge  of:  battle  of  (1796),  298 

Lonato:  battle  of  (T7()r)).  209 

Longjumeau,  Peace  of  (1568),  156 

Longucville,  Duke  of:  revolt  of,  178;  ar- 
rested, 202;  death  of.  210 

Longucville,  Anne  Genevieve  of  Bour- 
bon-Conde,  Duchess  of:  rouses  Tu- 
renne  against  the  cinun,  203 

Loria,  Roger  of:  connuands  Heet  against 
Charles  of  Anjou,  85 

Lorraine,  Charles  IV,  Duke  of:  at  war 
with  Louis  XIII  of  b'rance,  189;  de- 
feated by  Tureime.  21  r 

Lorraine.  Charles  V.  r)td<e  of:  his  cam- 
I)aign  against  the  I'rench.  217 

Lorraine.  Charles  of.  Duke  of  Guise: 
claims  throne  of  I'rauce.  i(>8;  bis 
campaign  in  tlie  Thirty  Years'  War, 
191 

Lorraine,  Charles  of  Guise.  Cardinal  of: 
urges     ]H'r>ecutioii     of     Protestants, 

I  to:  regent  for  l-Tancis  11  of  I'rance, 

140 
Loriaiue,   bVancis.   Duke   of  Guise  :   cap- 
tures Calais,  148;  regent  for  b'rancis 

II  of  I'"rance,  149;  death  of,  154 
Lorraine.  Henry  of.  Duke  of  Guise:  see 

1  lenry  of  Guise 
Lorr.'iine.  Henry  of.  Count  of  Ilarcourt  : 

his    camp.aign    in    the    Thirty    Years 

War.   193 
Lothaire  I,  Holy  Roman  emperor:  asso- 


524 


INDEX 


ciated  with  Louis  I  as  emperor,  47; 

revolt  of,  48;  death  of,  51 
Lothaire  T,  Prankish  king:  reign  of.  24 
Lothaire  IT,  Frankish  king:  reign  of,  51 
Lothaire   III,   Frankish   king:   reign   of, 

34 

Lothaire,  king  of  France:  reign  of,  58 

Loudun,  Treaty  of  (1616),  179 

Louis  (T)  the  Pious,  Floly  Roman  em- 
peror: crowned  king  of  Aquitaine, 
43;  acknowledged  as  emperor,  44; 
reign  of,  46 

Louis  (II)  the  Young,  Holy  Roman  em- 
peror: reign  of,  51 

Louis  the  Germnn,  Frankish  king:  at  war 
with  Lothaire,  49 

Louis  I,  king  of  France :  see  Louis  I, 
Holy  Roman  emperor 

Louis  (II)  the  Stammerer,  Frankish 
king:  reign  of,  52 

Louis  III,  Frankish  king:  reign  of,  52 

Louis  (IV)  d'Outre  Mer,  king  of 
France :  reign  of,  55 

Louis  V,  king  of  France :  reign  of,  59 

Louis  VI,  king  of  France :  reign  of,  71 

Louis  (VII)  the  Young,  king  of  France: 
associated  in  the  government  with 
Louis  VI,  "Ji;  reign  of,  73 

Louis  VIII,  king  of  France :  invades 
England,  TJ ;  reign  of,  80 

Louis  (IX),  Saint,  king  of  France: 
reign  of,  80 

Louis  X,  king  of  France :  reign  of,  89 

Louis  XI,  king  of  France:  leads  rebel- 
lion against  military  reforms,  117; 
marries  Charlotte  of  Savoy,  119; 
reign  of,  T21 

Louis  XII,  king  of  France :  claims  guar- 
dianship of  Charles  VIII,  126;  reign 
off  132 

Louis  XIII,  king  of  France:  birth  of, 
173;  reign  of,  177 

Louis  XIV,  king  of  France :  birth  of, 
189;  reign  of,  199 

Louis  XV,  king  of  h'rance :  reign  of, 
227 

Louis  XVI,  king  of  France:  birth  of, 
241  ;  reign  of,  253 ;  death  of,  282 

Louis  XVII,  titular  king  of  France:  pro- 
claimed king,  285;  death  of,  294 

Louis  (XVIII)  Stanislaus  Xavier,  king 
of  France :  declared  deprived  of  re- 
gency, 272;  recognized  as  king,  294; 


accession  of,  350;  reign  of,  355; 
death  of,  382 

Louis  I,  titular  king  of  Naples  (Duke  of 
Anjou)  :  claims  regency  for  Charles 
VI  of  France,   106 

Louis,  Count  of  Flanders :  solicits  aid 
from  Charles  V  of  France,  106; 
his  struggles  to  retain  his  throne, 
107 

Louis,  Raron  :  made  minister  of  finance. 
356;  made  minister  of  finance,  370; 
made  minister  of  finance  in  Perier's 
cabinet.  399 

Louis  of  Bourbon,  Prince  of  Conde :  see 
Conde,  Louis  of  Bourbon,  Prince  of 

Louis  Philip,  king  of  France :  his  cam- 
paign against  Napoleon,  360;  made 
lieutenant-general  of  the  kingdom, 
392 ;  accession  of,  to  throne,  393 ; 
reign  of,  394;  abdication  of,  434 

Louisa  of  Savoy :  proposes  marriage  to 
the  Duke  of  Bourbon,  139 ;  negoti- 
ates the  Ladies"  Peace,  141 

Louisiana :  sold  to  the  United  States,  320 

Lovers,  War  of  the,  160 

Louvet  de  Couvray,  Jean  Baptiste :  in- 
cites insurrection  in  the  departments, 
284 

Louvois,  Frangois  Michel  le  Tellier, 
Marquis  of:  creates  a  new  navy  for 
France,  208;  orders  ravaging  of  the 
Palatinate,  217 

Lowentahl  (Lowcndal),  Count  Frederic 
Waldemar  of:  in  the  War  of  the 
Austrian  Succession,  240 

Lowoestine :  assists  schemes  of  Napo- 
leon III,  442 

Lubeck,  Peace  of  (1629),  190 

Luckner,  Count  Nikolaus :  his  campaign 
in  Belgium,  273 

Luneville,   Peace  of    (1801),  317 

Luther,  Martin:  sketch  of  his  career,  138 

Lutterberg:  battle  of  (17,58),  245 

Liitzen:  battles  of   (1632),   190;    (1813), 

343 

Luxemburg:  siege  of  (1795),  293 

Luxembourg,  Francis  Henry,  Duke  of: 
his  campaigns  in  the  War  of  the 
League  of  Augsburg,  217 

Luynes,  Charles  d'Albert,  Duke  of:  in- 
fluence of,  180 

Luzara:  battle  of  (1703),  320 

Lyonne :  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  207 


INDEX 


525 


M 


Macdonald,  Ctienne  Jacques  Joseph  Al- 
exandre :    commands    army    in    Na- 
ples, 308;  his  campaign  against  Na- 
poleon, 360 
Machault,  Edict  of,  241 
Machault    d'Arnonvillc,    Jean    Raptiste : 

death  of,  289 
MacMahon,  Marie  Edme   Palricc   Mau- 
rice    de :     in     the     I""ranco-Prussian 
War,  463 ;    elected  president  of  the 
French  Republic,  477 
Madelin:  battle  of  (1809),  2,^,7 
Madrid,  Treaty  of  (1526).  140 
Maestricht:  siege  of  (1748),  240 
Magdeburg:  battle  of   (1792),  275 
Magenta:  battle  of  (1859),  451 
Maggiore:  battle  of  (1636),  192 
Magnan :    assists    schemes    of    Napoleon 

III,  442 
Magnano:  battle  of  (1799),  308 
Mahomet  All :   claims  of,  supported   bj- 

the  English,  242 
Maille:  death  of,  289 
Maillotins,  The,  107 

Maine,  Louis  Auguste  dc  T3ourbon,  Duke 
of:  given  tutorship  of  Lotii^  XV  of 
France,  227;  conspires  against  the 
the  regent,  230 
Maintenon,  Madame  de :  her  relations 
with  Louis  XIV,  216;  closing  days 
of,  226 
Malaga:  battle  of  (1704),  221;  taken  by 

French  (i8id),  337 
Malakoff:  captured  by  the  French,  448 
Malesherbes,      Christian      William       dc 
Lamoignon     of:     placed     over     the 
king's  household,  253 ;   resigns,  254 ; 
counsel  for  Louis  XVf,  280;   death 
of,  289 
Malines,  League  of   (1513).  135 
Malojaroslawetz  (Maloyaroslavets)  :  bat- 
tle of   (1812),  342 
Malouet,   Victor :   made   minister   of  the 

naval  department.  356 
Malplaquet:  battle  of   (1710),  223 
Man,   Society  of  the  Rights  of:  organ- 
ized, 404 
Mandat,  A.  J.  Gaillot  de :  death  of.  275 
Manfred,  king  of  Naples :  death  of.  84 
Mansourah:  battle  of  (1249),  81 
Marat,  Jean  Paul :  leader  of  the  Moun- 


tain, 278;  lends  tnovcmcnt  to  cru^h 

Girondists,  284  ;   death  of,  285 
Marcel,  fitienne :  leader  of  'i'liird  F^tati-, 

06:  power  of,  100;  (le.'.th  cjf,   loi 
Marche,    Connl    do    la :    revolts    against 

Louis  IX.  80 
]\larengo:  battle  of   (1800).  317 
?\Iargaret    of    Provence:    marries    Louis 

IX    of   France,  80;    holds   Damietta, 

81 
Margaret   of  Valois:   marries   Henry   of 

Navarre,  157;  divorced  from  Henry, 

171 
iMargueritc    of    Austria:    negotiates    the 

Ladies'  Peace.  141 
Marguerite  of  Burgundy:   death  of,  89 
I^Iarguerite  of  Lorraine :  marries  Gaston 

of  Orleans,    188 
I^Iaria  Leczinski :   marries  Louis   XV  of 

France,   234 
Maria   Louisa,   empress   of  the   French: 

marries    Napoleon,   338 
Marie:   member  of  the  provisional   gov- 
ernment. 435 
IMarie     Antoinette,     ciuecn     of     France: 

death  of,  2R7 
Marie  de'  Medici:  m.-irries  Henry  IV  of 

France,    172;   claims   the   regency   of 

France   for   Louis   XHl,    177;   exiled 

from  court,  180 
Marignano:   battle  of   (1515L   136 
Marillac,   I-ouis   de :    death   of,    t88 
Ivlarlborough,  John   Churchill,   Duke  of: 

his    campaign    in    I'"lantlers,    220 
Marmont,       Auguste       h'rederic       Louis 

Viesse    de,    Duke    of    Ragusa :     his 

cami)aign     in     the     Peninsula,     339; 

placed   in   connnand   of   Paris,  31)0 
Marriages,  The   Si)anish    (1846),  425 
Marseilles:  founded,  4;  siege  of  (1524), 

1.^9 

Marsin  (?>larchin),  ]'\~r<linan(l.  Count 
of:  his  camp;iigns  in  the  \V;ir  of 
Spanish  Succession,  221  ;  death  of, 
222 

Martignac.  Jean    P>;iptiste   Sylvere  Gaye, 

Viscount:   ministry  of,  387 
Martin    IV,    Pope:    snpi)orls    Charles    of 

Anjou,  85 
Mary  of  Purgundy  :   sketch  of,    125 
Mary  Queen   of  .Scots:   death   of,    [<)2 
IMary    Stuart:     marries    Louis    XII     of 
France,    135 


626 


INDEX 


Massena,  Andre:  his  campaign  against 
the  allied  forces,  293;  his  campaigns 
under  the  directory,  298;  his  cam- 
paign in  Switzerland,  308;  made 
marshal  of  the  empire,  322 

Matthews,  Admiral :  at  battle  of  Toulon, 
238 

Matthews:      his     campaign     in     India, 

257 
Maubeuge:  .siege  of   (i793),  287 
Maugin :   his   relation  to  the  revolution 

of  1830,  391 
Maupas :    assists    schemes    of    Napoleon 

HI,  442 

Maupeou,  Rene  Nicolas  Charles :  re- 
forms of,  249 

Manrepas,  Jean  Frederic  Philippe, 
Count  of:  made  prime  minister,  253; 
death  of,  257 

Maurice,  Duke  of  Saxou}' :  given  elec- 
torate of  Saxonj',  145 

Maurice  of  Saxony :  see  Saxe,  Count 
Maurice  de 

Maximian,  emperor  of  Rome :  his  cam- 
paign against  the  Salic  Franks,  15 

Alaximilian  I,  Holy  Roman  emperor: 
at  war  with  Charles  VIII  of  France, 
127 

Maximilian  (Ferdinand  Maximilian 
Joseph),  emperor  of  Mexico:  ac- 
cession of,  453 ;  death  of,  455 

Mayence:  siege  of   (1793),  283 

Mayenne,  Henry  of  Lorraine,  Duke  of: 
revolt  of,  178 

Mayenne,  Charles  de  Lorraine,  Duke  of : 
his  campaign  against  the  Protestants 
(1577),  160;  proclaimed  lieutenant- 
general  of  the  kingdom,  164 ;  sub- 
mits to  Henry  IV  of  France,  170; 
death  of,  181 

Mazarin  (Mazarini),  Jules  Giulio : 
made  prime  minister,  199;  banished, 
203 ;  returns  to  France,  204 ;  dis- 
missed by  Anne  of  Austria,  205 ; 
recalled  to  Paris,  206 ;  death  of, 
207 

Mediation,  Act  of  (1802),  320 

IMcdici,  Catherine  de' :  see  Catherine  de' 
Medici 

Medici,  Pierre  de :  Florentines  rise 
against,   130 

Medina  de  Rio-Secco :  battle  of  (1808), 
333 


Melegnano:  battle  of   (1850),  451 

Menou,  Baron  Jacques  Frangois  de: 
made  commander-in-chief  in  Egypt, 
318 

Menschikov  (Menshikoff),  Prince  Alex- 
ander Danilovitch :  in  the  Crimean 
War,  446 

J^Icrcoeur,  Duke  of:  supports  claims  of 
Philip  II  of  Spain  to  the  crown  of 
France,   170 

Mercy,  Claudius  Florimond,  Count :  his 
campaign  in  Sicily,  231 

Merovius,  king  of  the  Franks :  at  battle 
of  Mery-sur-Seine,  17 

Merovius,  Prankish  prince :  marries 
Brunhilda,   27 

Merseburg:  battle  of  (933  A. a),  55 

Mersen,  Edict  of  (847  A.u.),  5t 

Mery-sur-Seine  (Chalons-sur-Marne)  : 
battle  of  (451  A.D.),   17 

Mettcrnich,  Prince  Clemens  Wcnzel 
Nepomuk  Lothar  von :  summons 
the  Carlsbad  Conference,  374 

Metz:  siege  of  (1552),  146;  capitulation 
of   (1870),  468 

Mezicres:  siege  of  (1521),  138 

Michaud :  his  campaigns  against  the 
allied  forces,  290 

Michel  de  I'Hopital :  opposes  introduc- 
tion of  the  inquisition,  i=;t 

Mignet,  Frangois  Auguste  Marie:  op- 
poses the  decrees  of  July  25,  1830, 
390 

Milan,  Duchy  of:  conquered  by  the 
French,    136 

Milhaud,  at  battle  of  Waterloo,  363 

Millesimo:  battle  of  (1796),  298 

Minden:  battle  of  (1759),  245 

Mirabeau,  Gabriel  Honore  Riquetti, 
Count :  makes  motion  decreeing  in- 
violability of  members  of  tlie  na- 
tional assembly,  263;  his  efforts  in 
favor  of  the  court,  269 

Miromesnil,  Hiie  of :  made  keeper  of  the 
seals,  253 

Mogador:   bombarded    (1844),  423 

Mole,  Louis  Matthieu,  Count :  made 
minister  for  foreign  affairs,  396; 
ministry  of,  410;  attempts  to  form 
a  ministry,  432 

Mole,  Edward :  advises  refusal  of  the 
claims  of  Philip  II  of  Spain  to  the 
throne  of  France,  168 


INDEX 


627 


Moltke,  Count  Ilelmuth   Karl   P.cniliard 
vnn  :    in    the    Fraiu-o-Pnis-ian    War, 

i\rohvitz:  battle  of   (1741'),  237 
Moncey,  Bon   Adn'cn  Jcannot  <le  :  made 
marslial   of   the   empire,    ^,22;   made 
%  member   of  Louis    XVIIl's   council, 

355 
Aloncontour :  battle  of  (1570),  156 
Mondovi:  battle  of   (1796),  298 
Mormont:  battle  of  (1814),  346 
Mons-en-Puelle:  battle  of  (1304),  187 
Monsieur,  Peace  of  (1576),  159 
Montalembcrt,    Charles    P'orbes,    Count: 

opposes  the  September  Laws,  40S 
jMontalivet,    Camille    de :    bccotnes    min- 
ister   of     the     interior,    401  ;     made 
minister    of    the    interior    in    Mole's 
cabinet,  412 
Montauban :   siege  of   (1621),   tSi 
Montauban :     his    expedition    to    China, 

451;  ministry  of,  464 
Montebello:     battles     of     (1800),     316; 

(1859),   450 
Montecuccoli,      Count      Raimondo:      at 
battle    of    Saint-Gothard,    208;    his 
campaign  against  the  French,  211 
Alontemart,   Duke  of:   ordered  to  form 

a  ministry,  391 
Montenotte:  battle  of  (1796),  298 
Montereau:  battle  of  (1814),  346 
Montesquion,  Abbe  de :  member  of  pro- 
visional    government,      349;      made 
minister  of  the  interior,  356 
Montesquion,    Marshal   of:    his   govern- 
ment  of   Brittany,   230 
Montfort,   John   de,   Duke   of   Brittany : 

plans  assassination  of  Clisson,  108 
Alontfort,    Simon    de :    leads    crusaders 
against  the   Albigenses,  78;   at  war 
with  Charles  of  Blois,  93 
Montgomery,   Gabriel  :   death   of,    159 
Montiel:   battle  of    (1369),    104 
Montlhery:  battle  of   (1465),   122 
Montlosier:   opposes  the  Jesuits,  384 
Montluc,     Blaise     de     Laiseran-Massen- 
come,     Seigneur    de:     at    siege     of 
Sienna,  147 
Montmirail,  Peace  of  (ti6o),  74 
Montmirail :   battle   of    (18 14),   346 
Montmorency,  Anne  de  :  saves  Mezieres, 
138;   his  influence  over  Henry  II   of 
France,      145;      plot;,      against      the 


Guises,  149;  plots  massacre  of  the 
I'rotestants,    154 

Montmorency,  llenry  11,  1 /idxc  of:  re- 
bellion  and  death   of,    1S8 

Montmorency,  Viscount  Matthieu  de : 
made  minister  for  foreign  affairs, 
378;  at  the  Congress  of  Verona, 
379     _ 

Montpensier,  Anne  ^Marie  Louise 
d'Orleans,  Duchess  of:  aids  Conde, 
204 

Montjjensier,  Gilbert  de :  made  viceroy 
of   Italy,   131 

Montsabert :  arrest  of,  259 

IMore,  Sir  John:  his  campaign  in  Spain, 

334 
^lorat:   battle  of    (1476),    T24 
Morbegno:   battle   of    (1635),    191 
Moncon,  Treaty  of  (1625),  183 
Moreau,     Jean     Victor:     his     campaign 
against    the    allied    forces,    289;    his 
campaign     against     the     Austrians, 
299;    his   campaigns   under   the   con- 
sulate, 316;  plots  against  Napoleon's 
life,   321 
Morny,   Charles   Auguste  Louis  Joseph, 
Duke    of:    assists    schemes    of    Na- 
poleon  III,  442 
Mortier,   fidonard   Adolphe   C:isimir   Jo- 
seph: made  marshal  of  the  empire, 
322 
Moulins,  Edicts  of   (1564),  155 
Moulins,  Auguste:  made  member  of  the 

directory,   309 
Mouscron  :  battle  of  (1794),  2S9 
Miihlberg:  battle  of   (1547),   145 
Miilhauscn:  battle  of   (1674),  21  r 
Muiat,   Joachim:   m:ule   marshal   of   the 
empire,   322;    invites   return  of   Na- 
poleoii;    359 
Muret:  battle  of   (1213),  78 


N 


Nangis:  battle  of  (1814),  346 

Nantes,  Txlict  of:  issued  (iSoS).  171; 
revoked,  216 

Nantil,  Captain:  conspiracy  of,  375 

Napoleon  (T)  Bonaparte:  defends  the 
convention,  295;  rise  of,  297;  ap- 
pointed consul,  315;  made  emperor, 
322;     abdication     of,     349;     escapes 


528 


INDEX 


from  FJlia,  360;  final  abdication  and 
imprisonment     of,     365;     death     of, 
Ziy,   Iiis  remains  removed  to  Paris, 
418 
Napoleon    ITT,  emperor  of  tlie   French: 
plots  to  obtain  the  throne  of  France, 
410;   makes  second  attempt  to  gain 
throne  of  France,  418;  elected  presi- 
dent of  France,  438;  reign  of,  445 
Xarbonne:  founded,  8 
Navarctte:  battle  of  (1367),  104 
Navarino:  battle  of  (1827),  387 
Necker,     Jaccjues:     made     minister     of 
finance,    254;    resignation    of,    255; 
recalled,  260;  exiled,  263;  returns  to 
Paris,  265 
Neerwinden:     battles     of     (1693),    219; 

(1793^,    283 
Nelson,     floratio :     defeats     French     in 
Fgypt,    309;    his    campaign    against 
the  Toulon  fleet,  324 
Nemours,    Duke    of:    commands    troops 

in  insurrection  of  the  French,  204 
Nemours,  Treaty  of   (1585),   161 
Nerac,  Treaty  of   (1578),   160 
Nercsheim  :  battle  of   (1796),  300 
Neuburg:  battle  of  (1800),  317 
Neufcliatcau,    j'^rangois   of:   macit   mem- 
ber oT  the  directory,  305 
Nevers,   Charles  de  Gon;^aga,  Duke  of: 
see   Conzaga,   Charles   de,   Duke   of 
Nevers 
Nevers,    Jf)hn    the    Fearless,    Count    of: 
see     John    the    I*'earless,    Duke     of 
Burgundy 
Ney,  Michel :  made  marshal  of  the  em- 
pire,    322;     joins     Napoleon,     360; 
(leatli   of,   368 
Nezib:    battle    rif    (1839),   419 
Nicxa,  Council  of  (787  a.d.),  43 
Nicholas   II,   lunpenjr  of   Russia:   visits 

I'Vance,  489 
Nice:  captured  by  the  French,  143 
N'icopolis:  l)att]e  of  (1396),  locj 
Nicl,    Adc)l])l!c:    made   mim'ster   of   war, 

Nimcgucn,    Peace   of    ilUy?^),   212 
Nimeguen     on     the     Waal:     battle     of 

('1794),  290 
Nnailles,    Cardinal    of:    i)resident   of   the 

<-onncil    of    c<ins<-icnce,    227 
Noailh's,     y\dricn     Maurice,     Duke     of: 

president   of  the   council   of   finance, 


227;  dismissed  office,  230;  his  cam- 
paign in  Germany,  236 
Noailles,  Viscoimt  Louis   Marie   de:   at 

the  night  session  of  August  4,  1789, 

265 ;   death  of,  289 
Nogaret,    William    of:    takes   possession 

of  the  person  of  Boniface  VIII,  88 
Noir,  Victor:  death  of,  460 
Nc'irdlingen :     battles     of     (1634),     190; 

(1644),   199 
Novara:  siege  of  (1500),  132;  battle  of 

<'ISI3),  135 
Novi :  battle  of    (1799),  310 
Noyon,  Treaty  of  (1516),  137 


o 


Obrin :  battle  of  the  (793  a.d.),  43 

Ocana:  battle  of  (1809),  337 

Ollivier,  Fmile:  rise  of,  450;  ministry 
of,  459 

Olmiitz,   battle   of    (1792),  276 

Olssouvieff:  his  campaign  against  Na- 
poleon, 346 

Oporto:  battle  of   (1809),  Z^J 

rirleans  :  siege  of  (1428-1429),  114 

Orleans,  Charles,  Duke  of:  at  battle  of 
Azincourt,  iii 

Orleans,  b^erdinand  Philip,  Duke  of  Or- 
leans: marriage  of,  414;  death  of, 
420 

Orleans,  Ilelene  Louise,  Duchess  of:  see 
Helen  Louise  of  Mecklenburg 

Orleans,  Jean  Baptiste  Gaston,  Duke  of: 
conspires  against  Richelieu  (1625), 
184 ;  marries  Marguerite  of  Lor- 
raine, 188;  revolt  of,  188;  conspires 
against  Richelieu  (1642),  194;  joins 
Conde  against  Anne  of  Austria,  204; 
made  lieutenant-general  of  the  king- 
dom, 205 

Orleans,  Louis,  Duke  of:  member  of 
governing  council  of  France,  109; 
assassination  of,  no 

Orleans,  Louis,  Duke  of:  see  Louis  XII, 
king  of  France 

Orleans,  Louis  Philip,  Duke  of:  see 
Louis   Plu'lip,  king  of  France 

Orleans,  Louis  Philip  Joseph,  Duke  of, 
surnamed  Fgalite:  joins  Third  Es- 
tate, 263 ;  death  of,  287 

Orleans,    Philip    If,    Duke    of    Orleans: 


INDEX 


529 


recent  for  T,oui<;  XV  of  France,  227; 
death  of.  2.^4 
Orleans,  Maid  of.  sec  Joan  of  Arc 
Ormcs.son,  Henri  Franc^ois  de  Paule  d' : 

made  minister  of  finance,  257 
Ormond.  James   l^utUr,  2d  Dul<e  of:   at 

battle  of  Viyo,  221 
Orsini  Plot.  The   (  1858) ,  449 
Orthez:  battle  of   (1814),  348 
Orthez,  Treaty   of   (1513),   135 
Orvilliers,   Admiral :    in   war   with    l-lnc;- 

land,  254 
Otto    I,    Holy    Roman    emperor:    recon- 
ciles Louis  IV  and  his  nobles,  50 
Otto   H,    Holy   Roman   emperor:    acces- 
sion of.  58 
Otto   HI,   Holy  Roman   emperor:   acces- 
sion of,  59 
Otto,  Duke  of  Gascony  :  reign  of,  40 
Oudenarde:  battle  of  (170S),  223 
Oudinot,   Nicolas   Charles :   made   mem- 
ber of  Louis  XVII I's  council,  355 
Oudinot,    Nicolas    Charles    Victor:    his 
campaign  in  Italy,  439 


Palestro:  battle  of  (1850),  451 

Paltry  Peace   (1614).  178 

Paris :  made  capital  of  Prankish  king- 
dom, 20;  sieges  of  (1358).  loi ; 
(1436),  116;  (1S14).  348;  (1870V 
468;  battle  of  (1871),  472 

Paris,  Council  of   (614  a.d.),  32 

Paris,  Treaties  of:  (1229),  70;  (17C3), 
247;    (1814),  356 

Paris   Universal    Exhibition   of    Industry 

(1855),  44» 
Parma:  battle  of   {1734),  236 
Parma,    Alexander    Farnese,    Duke    of: 

see    Farnese,    Alexander,    Duke    of 

Parma 
Parma,   Ottavio   Farnesr,    Duke   of:    see 

Farnese,  Ottavio,   Duke  of   Parma 
Pasquier,    f-'tiennc   Denis.   Duke   of:    be- 
comes   minister    for    foreign    atTairs. 

372 
Passau,  Convention  of   (1552),   146 
Passy,     Frederick :     made     minister     of 

connnerce,  409 
Patay:  battle  of    (1420).   1 16 
Paul    HI    (Alexander    I'^arnese),    Pope: 


accession  of,  142:  arranges  truce  be- 
tween the  Fmperor  Charles  V  and 
Francis  I  of  France,  143 
Paul  1\',  Pope:  urges  flenry  11  of 
France  to  make  war  against  the  em- 
pire. T47 
Paul    I,    emperor   of    Russia:    death    of, 

318 
Pavia:  battle  of   (1525).  139 
Peace,  The  Underhand    (1407),    1 10 
Peace.  The  Unfortunate   (155Q).  148 
Peace,    The    Badlv    Established    (i^C^n, 

156 
Peace  of  Cod:  publishetl,  6vS 
Pedro  IT,  king  of  Aragon :  death  of,  78 
Pedro  HI,  king  of  Aragon:  at  war  with 

Charles  of  Anjou,  85 
Peking,  Treaty  of  (i860"),  451 
Pelet   of   La   Lozere:   made   minister   of 

public   instruction,  409 
Pelissier,  Aimable  Jean  Jacques :   in  the 

Crimean  War,  447 
Pelletan,    Eugene:    in    the    elections    of 

1869,  458' 
Pequiny,    John    de :    rescues    Charles    of 

Navarre,  loi 
Pere  Champenoise :  battle  of  (1814),  348 
Perier,  Casimir :  his  relation  to  the  rev- 
olution   of    1830,    391  ;    ministry    of, 
308;  death  of,  401 
Peronne,  Treaty  of   (1468).   123 
Perpignan :   siege  of   (1642),    194 
Persigny,    Jean     Gilbert    Victor     Fialin, 
Duke  of:  assists   schemes  of  Napo- 
leon HI,  442;  attempts  to  carry  the 
flections    (1863),  453 
Persil :  becomes  minister  of  justice,  405 
Pescaire,    Ferdinand    Francesco    d'Ava- 
los.    Marquis    of:    bis    campai,L>u    in 
Pro\ence,    139 
Peter  TV,  emperor  of  Txustjia:   accession 

of,    2.17 
]\ter  the  (."ruel,  king  of  Castile:  at  war 

with  Charles  V  of  France,   103 
Peter  the  Hermit:  leads  the  crusaders,  70 
Peterborough,    Charles    Mordaunt.    T'.arl 

of:  bis  campai.gn  in  Spain,  222 
Pition,  de  \'ilieneu\e,  Jerome:  ad- 
dresses the  populace,  274;  incites 
insurrection  in  the  departments, 
284 
Peyr<')nnei',  Charles  Tgnace,  Count  of: 
inaile   keeper   of  the   seals,   37S 


530 


INDEX 


Philip  T,  king  of  France :  reign  of,  68 

Philip  (II)  Augustus,  king  of  France: 
crowned,  74 ;  reign  of,  75 

Philip  (III)  the  Bold,  king  of  France: 
reign  of,  84 

Philip  (IV)  the  Fair,  king  of  France: 
reign  of,  86 

Philip  V,  king  of  France :  reign  of,  90 

Philip  VI,  king  of  France :  reign  of,  92 

Philip  II,  king  of  Spain :  accession  of, 
147;  marries  Elizabeth  of  France, 
149;  signs  Peace  of  Vervins,  171 

Philip  IV,  king  of  Spain:  concludes 
treaty  with  France,  207;  death  of, 
209 

Philip  V,  king  of  Spain :  accession  of, 
220;  claims  Hungary  and  Bohemia, 
236 

Philip  the  Bold,  Duke  of  Burgundy: 
given  Burgundy,  102 ;  claims  re- 
gency for  Charles  VI  of  France, 
106;  receives  Flanders,  108;  made 
regent  of  France,  109 

Philip  the  Good,  Duke  of  Burgundy: 
offers  the  crown  of  France  to  Henry 
V  of  England,  113;  aids  Louis  XI 
of  France,  119 

Philip,  Count  of  Evreux :  his  claims  to 
the  French  crown,  92;  at  war  with 
John  of  France,  98 

Philippeaux,  Pierre:  death  of,  288 

Pianori :  attempts  to  assassinate  Napo- 
leon HI,  448 

Piave:  battle  of  (1809),  336 

Picard,  Ernest:  in  the  elections  of  1869, 
.458 

Pichegru,  Charles :  his  campaign  against 
the  allied  forces,  289;  made  presi- 
dent of  the  council  of  the  five  hun- 
dred, 303;  arrest  of,  304;  plots 
against   Napoleon's   life,   321 

Fieri :  attempts  to  assassinate  Napoleon 
HI,  449 

Pierre  Mauclerc,  Duke  of  Brittany:  be- 
comes duke,  79 

Pilnitz,  Treaty  of  (1791),  270 

Pippin  I,  king  of  Aquitaine :  reign  of, 
48 

Pippin  II,  king  of  Aquitaine:  reign  of, 
49 

Pippin  I,  king  of  the  Franks:  reign  of, 
38 

Pippin  of  Heristal :  power  of,  35 


Pippin  of  Landen :  rebellion  of,  31; 
made  mayor  of  the  palace,  33 

Pitt,  William,  Earl  of  Chatham :  foreign 
policy  of,  246 

Pitt,  William,  son  of  the  Earl  of  Chat- 
ham :  forms  coalition  against 
France,  307 

Pius  VI,  Pope:  taken  prisoner  by  the 
French,  307 

Pius  VII,  Pope :  signs  concordat  with 
Napoleon,  319;  his  quarrel  with  Na- 
poleon, 337;  consecrates  Napoleon, 
322;  reestablishes  the  order  of  the 
Jesuits,  357 

Pius  IX,  Pope :  reforms  of,  426 

Plantagenet,  Geoffrey,  Count  of  Anjou: 
claims  English  throne,  72 

Plebiscites:    (1851),   442;    (1852),  444 

Poictiers :  battles  of  (507  A.D.),  20; 
(1356),  98 

Poictiers,   Battle  of    (732  a.d.),  Zl 

Pointis,  Jean  Bernhard  Louis  Desjeau, 
Baron  of:  captures  Carthagena,  219 

Poissy,  Conference  of   (1561),  152 

Poland,  Partitions  of,  250 

Polignac,  jNIadame  de:  urges  dismissal 
of  Brienne,  260 

Polignac,  Armand  of :  plots  against  Na- 
poleon's life,  322 

Polignac,  Jules  Auguste  Armand  Marie, 
Prince  of :  made  member  of  the 
council,  388;  trial  of,  397 

Poltrot,  John,  of  Mere :  assassinates 
Francis  of  Guise,  154 

Pompadour,  Madame  de :  her  influence 
over  Louis  XV,  244 

Pondicherry:  founded,  214;  captured  by 
the  Dutch,  2T9;  captured  by  the 
English  (1760),  246;  captured  by 
the  English  (1778),  256 

Pont-de-Ce:  battle  of  (1620),  181 

Portal:  made  minister  of  marine  affairs, 

370 
Posthumus,  emperor  of  Rome:  accession 

and  death  of,  13 
Pothinus,    Bishop    of   Lyons :    martyred, 

12 
Prague:  battle  of  (1757),  245 
Prague,    Battle    of    (1620)  :    see    White 

Mountain 
Presburg,  Treaty  of  (1805),  326 
Prignano,  Bartholomew :   see  Urban  VI 
Pritchard  Case,  The   (1842),  422 


INDEX 


531 


Procida,     John     of:     leads     conspiracy 

against  Charles  of  Anjoii,  85 
Public  Good,  League  of  the,  122 
Puiraveau :  his  relation  to  the  revolution 

of  1830,  391 
Puisaye,  Joseph,   Marquis  of:   joins  the 

allied  forces,  294 
Pultusk:  battle  of  (1806),  329 
Pyramids,  Battle  of  tlie  (1798),  309 
Pyrenees,  Peace  of  the  (1659),  207 


Quadruple     Alliances:      (1716),      228; 

(1834),  403 

Quasdanovitch :  his  campaign  against 
the  French,  299 

Quatre-Bras:  battle  of    C1815),  362 

Quebec:  taken  by  the  English  (1759), 
246 

Quinette:  member  of  provisional  gov- 
ernment, 365 

Raab:  battle  of  (1809),  336 

Rabaud-Saint-Etienne :  speaks  in  behalf 
of  Louis  XVI,  281 

Raglan,  Fitzroy  James  Henry  Somerset, 
Baron :  in  the  Crimean  War,  447 

Ragnachar,  chief  of  Thcrouanne:  death 
of,  21 

Ramillies:  battle  of  (1706),  222 

Rantzau,  Count  of:  defeated  at  battle 
of  Tuttlingen,    199 

Rastatt:  battle  of  (1796),  299 

Rastatt,  Peace  of  (1713),  225 

Ratisbon:  battle  of  (1809),  335 

Ratisbon,  Diet  of  (1630-1631),  187,  190 

Ratisbon,  Truce  of  (1683),  212 

RavailJac,  Francis:  assassinates  ilenry 
IV  of  France,  176 

Ravenna:  battle  of  (1512),  134 

Raymond  (IV)  of  Saint  Gilles,  Count 
of  Toulouse :   leads  crusade,  70 

Raymond  VI,  Count  of  Toulouse :  fa- 
vors the  reformers,  T] 

Raymond  VII,  Count  of  Toulouse :  con- 
tinues the  war  against  the  Pope,  78 

Raymond,  Roger,  Viscount  of  Bcziers : 
favors  the  reformers,  'JJ 

Regenfried :  made  mayor  of  the  palace, 
.36 

Reille,  Honore  Charles  Michel  Joseph, 
Count:  at  battle  of  Waterloo,  363 


Remusat,  Count  Francois  Marie  Charles 
de :  opposes  the  decrees  of  July  25, 
1830,  390 

Rene,  Duke  of  Lorraine:  defeats  Charles 
the  Rash,  124 

Rene  of  Anjou,  Duke  of  Lorraine  and 
Provence  and  titular  king  of  Na- 
ples and  Sicily :  requests  aid  from 
Charles  VII  of  France,  118;  aban- 
doned by  Louis  XI  of  France,  124; 
death   of,   125 

Renti:  battle  of  (1552),  147 

Republics  of  France:  first,  278;  second, 
435;  third,  467 

Rethel :  battle  of   (1650),  203 

Revolution,  The  French,  251 

Revolution,  The  Swiss,  306 

Revolution  of   1830,  374 

Revolution  of  1848,  415 

Rewbel,  Jean  Frangois :  appointed  mem- 
ber of  the  directory,  296 

Richard  (I)  Coeur  de  Lion,  king  of  Eng- 
land :  accession  of,  75;  joins  cru- 
saders, 75 

Richard  II,  king  of  England:  accession 
of,  105 ;  aids  Flemings,   107 

Richard  the  Fearless,  Duke  of  Nor- 
mandy :  accession  of,  56 

Richelieu,  Armand  Emmanuel  dn 
Plessis,  Duke  of:  first  ministry  of, 
367 ;  second  ministry  of,  372 

Richelieu,  Armand  Jean  du  Plessis,  Car- 
dinal and  Duke  of:  enters  the  gov- 
erning council,  179;  negotiates  peace 
between  Marie  de'  Medici  and  Louis 
XIIT,  iSo;  made  cardinal,  182;  ca- 
reer of,   183 

Richelieu,  Louis  Fran<;ois  Arniaiul  du 
Plessis,  Duke  of :  in  the  Seven 
Years'  War,  244 

Richemont,  Artluir  de  Bretagne,  Count 
of:  made  constable  of  France,   114 

Rigault  de  Genouilly,  Admiral  :  made 
minister  for  naval  affairs,  459 

Rights  of  Man,  Society  of  the :  organ- 
ized, 404 

Rigny,  Henry  Gauthier,  Count  of:  at 
battle  of  Navarino,  387;  becomes 
minister  for  foreign  affairs,  405 

Rivet-Vitet   Law    (187O,  475 

Riviere,  Charles  of:  plots  against  Na- 
poleon's life,  322 

Rivoli:  battle  of  (1797),  302 


532 


INDEX 


Rhine,    Confederation    of    the:    formed, 

^■27 
Rhumberg:  battle  of  (1760),  246 
Robert   1,  king  of   France:   saves   Paris, 

53 ;  elected  king,  54 
Robert  II,  king  of  France :  reign  of,  66 
Robert  the  Strong,  Count  of  Anjou:  in- 
trusted with  defense  of  the  northern 
frontier,  51 
Robert    (T)    the    Magnificent,    Duke    of 
Normandy:  aids  Henry  I  of  France, 

(>! 

Robert  If,  Duke  of  Normandy:  leads 
crusade,  70 

Robert  of  Artois:  career  of,  93 

Robert  of  Geneva :  see  Clement  VII 

Robespierre,  Augustin  Bon  Joseph :  ar- 
rest and  death  of,  291 

Robespierre,  Maximilien  Marie  Isadore: 
rules  the  Jacobin  club,  272 ;  leader 
of  the  Mountain,  278;  leads  move- 
ment to  crush  Girondists,  284 ;  made 
member  of  the  committee  of  safety, 
285 ;  forms  triumvirate  with  Saint- 
Just  and  Couthon,  289;  arrest  and 
death  of,  291 

Rochambeau,  Jean  Baptiste  Donatien 
de  Vimeure,  Count  of :  his  campaign 
in  America,  255 ;  his  campaign  in 
Belgium,  273 

Roche- Abeille:  battle  of  (1569),  156 

Rochefort,  Henri :  edits  La  Lanterne, 
457;  persecution  of,  458;  publishes 
the  Marseillaise,  460 

Rochelle:  sieges  of  (1572),  158;  (1621), 
181;    (1627- 1628),   18s 

Rocoux :  battle  of  (1747),  240 

Rocroi :  battle  of   (1643),   199 

Rodney,  Sir  George  Brydges :  at  battle 
of  St.  Lucia,  256 

Rodolph,  king  of  I'Vance :  reign  of,  54 

Roger  de  Nesle :  appointed  regent,  84 

Rohan,  Viscount  of:  joins  rebellion 
against   Anne  of   Beaujeu,   128 

Rohan,  Henry,  Duke  of:  leads  Hugue- 
not uprising,  183;  goes  into  exile, 
187 

Roland,  de  la  Platiere,  Jean  Marie: 
member  of  Gir(Midist  ministry,  273 

Rolln,  Duke  of  Normandy:  reign  of,  54 

Rome:  sieges  of  (1527),  140;  (1849), 
439 

Romorantin,  Edict  of  (1560),  152 


Rooke,  Sir  George :  at  battle  of  Vigo, 
221 

Rosebek:  battle  of   (1382),   107 

Roses,  War  of  the,  123 

Rossbach :  battle  of  (1757),  245 

Rostopchin,  Count  Feodor:  sets  fire  to 
Moscow,  342 

Rouen:  siege  of  (1562),  154 

Rouher,  Eugene :  becomes  minister  of 
state,  454;  becomes  president  of  the 
senate,  459 

Rouille:  peace  envoy  to  Holland,  223 

Roussin,  Admiral :  his  expedition  against 
Portugal,  399 

Roveredo:  battle  of   (1796),  300 

Roy,  Count  Antoine :  becomes  minister 
of  finance,  372 

Royer-Collard,  Pierre  Paul :  leads  con- 
stitutional party,  358;  leads  the  doc- 
trinaires, 371 ;  opposes  the  Septem- 
ber Laws,  408 

Rudio :  attempts  to  assassinate  Napo- 
leon III,  449 

Ruel,  Peace  of   (1649),  202 

Russell,  Edward,  Earl  of  Orford :  at 
battle  of  La  Hogue,  219 

Ruyter,  Michel  Adriaanszoon  de :  his 
.  struggles  against  the  French  and 
English,  210;  death  of,  212 

Ryswick,  Peace  of  (1697),  219 


Saarbriicken:  battle  of   (1870),  463 
Sabinus,  lieutenant  of  Caesar's :  his  cam- 
paign in  Gaul,  9 
Sable,  Treaty  of  (1488),  128 
Sacken :  his  campaign  against  Napoleon, 

346 
Sadowa:  battle  of   (1866),  455 
Saint      Andre,      Jacques      d'Albon      de: 
forms  league  with  the  Guises,   152; 
death  of,  154 
Saint- Antoine :  battle  of   (1653),  205 
St.    Arnaud :    assists    schemes   of   Napo- 
leon III,  442;  in  the  Crimean  War, 

447 
Saint     Aubin     du     Cormier:     battle     of 

(1488),   128 
Saint  Bartholomew,  Massacre  of  (1572), 

157 


I  N  D  F.  X 


533 


Saint  Cloud.  Convention  of  (1815),  365 
Saint-Cyr,  Gouvion :   his  reforms   in   the 
army,  366;  minister  of  war  in  Rich- 
eheu   nn'nistry,  367 
St.  Denis:  battle  of  (1567),  155 
Saint-Denis,  Mathieu  de :   appointed  re- 
gent, 84 
Saint   Germain,   Peace  of    (1570"),    157 
Saint  Germain,  Claude  Louis,  Count  of: 

made  minister  of  war,  253 
St.  Gilles,  Council  of  (1212).  78 
Saint-Gothard  :  battle  of   (1664).  208 
Saint  Jacques:   battle  of   (1444),   ii8 
St.   Jean  d'Acre,   sieges  of:    (1194),  75; 

(^79^),  309 
St.  John  Lateran,  Council  of,  135 
Saint-Just,    Antoine :    made    ineniber    of 
the  committee  of  safety,  285 ;   forms 
triumvirate     with     Robespierre     and 
Couthon,   289;   arrest   and   death   of, 
291 
St.  Lucia:  battle  of  (1782).  256 
Saint-Oucn:   Declaration  of   (1814),  355 
St.   Philip:  siege  of   ('1756),  244 
Saint  Pol,  Louis  de  Luxembourg,  Count 

of:  execution  of,  T24 
Saint-Pol,     General :     his     campaign     in 

Italy,   141 
Saint-Simon,    Louis    de    Rouvroy,    Duke 
of:  made  member  of  the  council  of 
regency,  227 
Sainte-Menehould,     Treaty    of     (1614), 

178 
Saintes :  battle  of    (1242),  81 
Saladin  :  conquests  of.  75 
Salamanca:  battle  of  (1812),  343 
Salic     Law :      first     application     of,     in 

France,  90 
Salvandy :    made   minister   of   public   in- 
struction, 412 
Salverte  :  his  relations  to  the  revolution 

of   1830,  391 
Salzbach:  battle  of  (1675),  21  r 
Sancerre :  siege  of   (1572),   158 
Santerre,  Antoine  Joseph  :  leader  of  the 

populace,  272 
Saratoga:  battle  of   (1778),  254 
Saragossa :  battle  of   (1710),  223 
Sauzet:  made  minister  of  justice,  409 
Saxc,    Count    Maurice    de    (Maurice    of 
Saxony)  :    in  the   War   of  the   .Aus- 
trian Succession,  237 
Saxe-Coburg,    Friedrich    Josias,    Prince 


of:     see    Coburg,    Friedrich    Josia-^, 
Prince  of 
Scherer,    Rarthelemy   Louis   Jo-,eph ;    his 
campaigns  agiiiii'^t   t!;e   allied   forces, 
293:  commands  army   in    Italy,  308 
Schomberg,  Henry.  Count  of :  draws  up 

the  Edict  of  Nantes.  171 
Sch("inbninn,  Treaty  of   (1805),  ;^jCi 
.Schwan^tadl  :  battle  of   (1800).  317 
Seasons.    Society    of    the:    instig;ites    a 

riot,  417 
Scbastiani,  Count   Francois  Horace   Pa- 
tien  :  negotiates  treaty  with   the  sul- 
tan of  Turkey,  330:  his  relations  to 
the    revolution    of    1830.    301  ;    inadt' 
nu'nister   for  foreign   affairs,  390 
Scbnstopol  :    siege   of    (1854-1855),  447 
Sedan:  battle  of   (1870),  4^.4 
Segur,   Chancellor:   keeper  of  the  seals, 

207 
Seniinara:  battle  of  ('1503^   133 
Senef:   battle  of    (1674),  211 
Senegal :   taken  by  the   F.nglish,  246 
Senlis,  Treaty  of   (1495),   129 
Sens:  battle  of   (ca.  600  a.d,),  30 
September,  Laws  of   ('1835).  408 
Serrano  y  Dominguez,   Francisco,   Duke 

de  la  Torre:  regent  of  Spain,  461 
Serre,   Hercule,  Count  of:   made  keeper 

of  the  seals,  370 
Serrurier,    Jean    Mathieu    Philibert:    his 
campaign   against  the  allied  powers, 
294;  his  campaigns  under  the  direct- 
ory, 200 
Seven  Weeks'  War,  455 
Seven  Years'  War,  244 
Seville:   taken   by   French    (t8io),  x^7 
Seze,     Dc :     counsel     for     Louis     XVI, 

280 
Sforza,    John    Galeas    (Gian    Galeazzo), 

Duke  of  ^lil;ui:  reign  of.   130 
Sforza,  Louis,  surnamed  the  Moor,  Duke 
of    Milan:    attempts    to    unite     Italy 
in     one     body,      J30;     joins     league 
against  Ch;irles  AMI!  of  h'rance,  131 
Sicilian  Vespers    (  T282L  85 
Sienna:   siege  of   (1554-1555;),   147 
Sieyes,   Count   lunmanuel   Joseph :   insti- 
gates   the    formation    of    a    national 
assembly,  262;  made  member  of  the 
directory.    309:    forms    alliance    with 
Napoleon,     310;     a[)pointed     consul, 
315 


534 


INDEX 


Sigibert  I,  king  of  Austrasia:  reign  of, 

26 
Sigibert  II,  king  of  Austrasia:  reign  of, 

^^ 
Sigibert,  king  of  Burgundy,  rcign  of,  31 

Sigibert,  king  of  the  Ripuarian  Franks: 

assassination  of,  21 
Sigismund,  king  of  Burgundy:  death  of, 

24 
Simeon:  made  mmister  of  the  interior, 

373 
Simon,  Jules:   in  the  elections  of   1869, 

4S8 
Simpson,  General :  in  the  Crimean  War, 

447 
Sixtus  V,  Pope:  excommunicates  Henry 
of    Navarre,    161 ;    excommunicates 
Henry  HI  of  France,  165 
Smalkalde,  League  of  (1531),  142 
Smith,   Sir   Sidney:   defends   Saint  Jean 

d'Acre,  309 
Soissons:  battle  of   (720  a.d.),  36 
Solebay  (Southwold)  :  battle  of   (1672), 

210 
Solfcrino:  battle  of  (1859),  451 
Sombreuil,    Charles    Virot    de :    capture 

and  death  of,  294 
Somerset,  Fitzroy  James  Henry,  Baron 
Raglan :   sec  Raglan,  Fitzroy  James 
Henry  Somerset,  Baron 
Sommerhausen :  battle  of   (1647),  200 
Sondcrhauscn:  battle  of   (1758),  245 
Soubise,   Benjamin   de   Rohan,   Seigneur 

de:  revolt  of,  183 
Soubise,  Charles  de  Rohan,   Prince  of: 

in  the  Seven  Years'  War,  245 
Souham,   Joseph :   his   campaign   against 

the  allied  forces,  289 
Soult,   Nicolas  Jean   do   Dieu,  Duke   of 
Dalmatia :  made  marshal  of  the  em- 
pire,  322;   his   campaigns   in   Spain, 
334;    made    minister    of    war,    359; 
made    minister    of    war    in    Perier's 
cabinet,  399;  first  ministry  of,  402; 
second  ministry  of,  417;  third  min- 
istry of,  420 
Southwold :  see  Solebay 
Spanden :  battle  of   (1807),  331 
Spanish  Marriages,  The    (1846),  425 
Spurs,  Battle  of  the   (1513),  135 
Stael,   Madame  dc :   leads   constitutional 

party,  358 
Staff arde:  battle  of  (1690),  218 


Stair,  John  Dalrymple,  Earl  of:  negoti- 
ates treaty  with  France,  228;  in  the 
War  of  the  Austrian  Succession, 
238 

Steinkirk :  battle  of  (1692),  218 

Steinmetz.  Karl  Friedrich  von :  in  the 
Franco- Prussian  War,  463 

Stenay:  battle  of  (1870),  464 

Stephen  II,  Pope:  asks  aid  from  Pippin 
I,  40 

Stephen  I,  king  of  England ;  his  struggle 
for  the  crown,  72 

Stockach  :  battle  of   (1799),  308 

Stofflet,  Nicholas :  leads  insurrection  in 
the  Vendee,  283;  death  of,  297 

Strasburg  (Strassburg)  :  battle  of  (359 
A.D.),  14;  siege  of  (1870),  464 

Stromboli :  battle  of  (1676),  212 

Subervie,  General :  member  of  the  pro- 
visional   government,    435 

Succession,  War  of  Spanish,  220 

Suchet,  Louis  Gabriel :  his  campaign  in 
Spain,  337 

Suffold,    General:    at   siege   of    Orleans, 

115 

Suffrcn,  de  Saint-Tropez,  Pierre  Andre 
de ;  his  campaign  in  India,  257 

Sugcr,  Abbot  of  Saint  Denis :  manages 
government  of  France,  7s 

Sully,  Maximilian  de  Bethune,  Baron 
of  Rosny  and  Duke  of:  assists 
Henry  IV  to  raise  army  and  money 
against  Spain,  170;  administration 
of,  173 

Surat :  TVench  establish  factory  at,  214 

Susa,  Treaty  of   (1628),  186 

Suvarov,  Count  Alexander :  his  cam- 
paign against  the  French,  309 

Syagrius :  governs  Roman  possessions 
in  Gaul,  18;  defeated  by  the  Franks, 
19 


Taboureau :    made   minister   of   finance, 

254 
Tafna,  Treaty  of  (1837),  413 
Taillebourg,  Bridge  of:  battle  of  (1242), 

81 
Talavera:  battle  of   (1809),  337 
Talbot,   John,    Earl    of    Shrewsbury:    at 

siege  of  Orleans,  115 
.Tallard,  Camille  de  la  Baume,  Count  of: 

defeated  at  Blenheim,  221 


INDEX 


535 


Talleyrand-Perigord,  Charles  Maurice 
de :  proposes  that  the  clergy  give  up 
their  possessions,  267;  member  of 
provisional  government,  349;  made 
minister  of  foreign  afTairs.  356; 
made  president  of  Louis  XVIII's 
ministry,  365 

Tallien,  Jean  Lambert :  resists  Robes- 
pierre's views,  290 

Talmont:  supports  insurrection  in  the 
Vendee,  283 

Tangiers,  Treaty  of   (1844).  423 

Tanneguy-Duchatel,  provost  of  Paris : 
rescues  the  dauphin,  112;  exile  of, 
114 

Tarwitz:  battle  of  (1809),  33^^ 

Tavannes,  Gaspard  de  Saulx  de :  at  bat- 
tle of  Jarnac,  156;  gives  the  orders 
for  the  Massacre  of  Saint  Bartholo- 
mew,  157 

Tchernaya :  battle  of  the  (1855),  44S 

Tchitchagoff  (Tchitschakov),  Paul  Vas- 
silievitch:  his  campaign  again>t  Na- 
poleon, 342 

Templars,  Order  of  the  Knights :  perse- 
cutions of,  88 

Terray,  Joseph-Marie,  Abbe:  reforms 
of,  249 

Tessc,  Rene  de  Froulai,  Count  of :  in 
the  War  of  the  Spanish  Succession, 
222 

Teste :  scandal  concerning,  428 

Testry:  battle  of  (687  a.d.),  35 

Tetricus,  Cains  Pivesus :  surrenders  to 
Aurclian.   13 

Thann:  battle  of   (1809),  335 

Theodcbald,  Frankish  king:  reign  of,  25 

Theodcbald,  grandson  of  Pippin  of  llcr- 
istal :  made  mayor  of  the  palace,  36 

Theodcbert  I,  Frankish  king:  accession 
of,  25 

Theodebert  II,  Frankish  king:  reign  of, 
30 

Theodoric  the  Great,  king  of  the  Ostro- 
goths: attempts  to  aid  Alaric  II 
against  the  Franks,  20 

Theodoric  I,  king  of  the  Visigoths  :  his 
campaign  against  Attila,   17 

Theodoric  I  (Thierry),  Frankish  king: 
his  campaign  against  Auvergnc,  20; 
reign  of,  24 

Theodoric  II,  Frankish  king:  reign  of, 
30 


Theodoric  TIT,  Frankish  king:   reign  of, 

34 
Theodoric  IV,  Frankish  king:  reign  of, 

37 

Therouenne :  razed  to  the  ground,   147 

Thibaut,  Count  of  Champagne :  accused 
of  poisoning  Louis  VI II  of  France, 
80 

Thiers,  Louis  Adolphc :  opposes  the  de- 
crees of  July  25,  1830,  390;  in  Soult's 
ministry,  402;  becomes  minister  of 
the  interior,  405:  first  ministry  of. 
409;  second  ministry  of,  418:  leads 
opposition,  424;  opposes  Gui/.ot's 
foreign  policy,  430;  arrest  of,  441; 
elected  to  the  assembly.  458;  can- 
vasses luiropc  to  obtain  aid  for 
France,  467;  matie  "head  of  tlic  ex- 
ecutive power,"  469;  becomes  presi- 
dent of  the  I'rench  Republic,  475 

Thierry:  sec  Tiicodoric 

TIii(Mnille  :  battle  of  (1639).  I93 

Thu-ty  Years'  War,  The,  183 

Thomas,  Clement :  made  commander  of 
(he  national  guard,  437;  captured  by 
the  commune,  470 

Thou,  Christopher  de :  approves  the 
Massacre     of     Saint     Bartholomew, 

158 
Thou,   Franqois   Augustc   de:    death   of, 

195 

Thou,    Jacf[ues-Auguste    de :    draws    up 

the  lidict  of  Nantes,  171 
Thouret:   dismisses   the  national   assem- 
bly, 271  ;  death  of,  289 
Three  Henries,  War  of  the,  161 
Tiberias:  battle  of   (1187).  75 
'I'ien-tsin,  Treaty  of  (1858),  449 
Tilly,  Johann  Tserclacs,  Count :  his  cam- 
paigns in  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  190 
Tilsit,   Treaty  of    (1807),  331 
Tippoo  Sahib:  at  war  with  the  Fnglish, 

256 
Tolbiac :   battles  of   (496  a.d.).   19;    (612 

A.ii.),  31 
Tolentino:  battle  of  (1815).  ^,62 
Tolcntino,  Treaty  of  (1797),  302 
Tonncrrc,     Count    Clermont    of:     urges 
nobles   to   resume   their   seats   in   the 
assembly,    jbj, 
Torgau  :  battle  of  (17G0),  246 
Torres  Vedras:  battle  of   (1810),  338 
Toulon:  battle  of  (1744),  238 


536 


INDEX 


Toulouse:  siege  of  (1216),  78;  battle  of 

(1814),  350 
Tournay:  siege  of  (1745),  239;  battle  of 

(1794),  290 
Tours,  Battle  of:  see  Poictiers,  Battle  of 
Tourville,    Anne    Hilarion    dc    Cotentin, 
Count   of:   at  battle   of  La   Hogue, 
219 
Trafalgar:  battle  of  (1805),  326 
Trebbia:  battle  of  (1799),  309 
Treilhard :  made  member  of  the  direc- 
tory, 305 
Trent,  Council  of  (1545-1564),  155 
Trevisa,  Duke  of:  his  ministry,  407 
Trichinopoly :  siege  of   (1750),  242 
Triple   Alliances:    (1668),   209;    (1715), 

228 
Trochu,  Louis  Jules:  defends  Paris,  415; 
assumes    presidency    of     provisional 
government,  466 
Tronchet,    Frangois   Denis :    counsel    for 

Louis  XVI,  280 
Troyes,  Treaty  of  (1420),  113 
Truce  of  God :  published,  68 
Tudela:  battle  of  (1808),  334 
Tuileries,  The :  burned,  472 
Turcoin:  battle  of  (1794),  290 
Turenne,  Llenry  de  La  Tour  d'Auvergne, 
Viscount  of:  joins  the  Fronde,  202; 
joins   queen's   party,   204;    his   cam- 
paigns against  Conde,  206;  his  cam- 
paigns against  the  Dutch,  210;  death 
of,  211 
Turin:  siege  of  (1706),  222 
Turgot,    Anne    Robert    Jacques :    made 
comptroller-general  of  finances,  253; 
disgraced,  254 
Turkhcim:  battle  of  (1674),  211 
Tuttlingcn:  battle  of  (1643),  199 
Twenty-Four    Articles,    Treaty .  of    the, 
(1831),  400 


U,  V 

Underhand  Peace,  The  (1407),  no 
Unfortunate  Peace,  The  (1559),  148 
Union,   Edicts   of    (1588),    163;    (1648), 

200 
Unkiar-Skelcssi,   Treaty  of    (1833),  403 
Urban  II,  Pope:  preaches  the  first  cru- 
sade, 70 


Urban     VI     (Bartholomew     Prignano), 

Pope :  election  of,  105 
Urbino,  Duke  of:  raises  an  army  for  the 

defense  of  Italy,  140 
Utrecht,  Treaty  of  (1713),  224 
Uxelles,  Marshal :  president  of  the  coun- 
cil of  foreign  affairs,  227 
Val  de  Presle:  battle  of  the  (1635),  192 
Valdonne,  Chevalier  de :  made  minister 

for  the  interior,  459 
Valenc^ay,  Treaty  of  (1813),  344 
Valentinian  III,  Emperor  of  the  West: 

reign  of,  16 
Valmy:  battle  of   (1792),  277 
Valognes,  Treaty  of  (1355),  96 
Vassy:   massacre  of    (1562),   153 
Vauban,    Sebastien    le    Prestre    of:    his 

campaign  in  Germany,  217 
Vaublanc :  made  minister  of  the  interior, 

367 
Vaubois,  Henri  Belgrand,  Count  of:  his 

campaigns  under  the  directory,  301 
Vaucelles,  Treaty  of  (1555),  147 
Vauchamps :  battle  of  (1814),  346 
Vendome,    Duke    of:    conspires    against 

Richelieu,   184 
Vendome,   Louis   Joseph,   Duke   of:   his 

campaigns    in   the    War   of   Spanish 

Succession,  220 
Veneti :  revolt  of,  9 
Vercelli,  Treaty  of  (1495),  131 
Vercingetorix,  chief  of  the  Auvergnats : 

leads    rebellion   against   Rome,    10 
Verdun:  sieges  of  (985  a.d.),  59;  (1792), 

276 
Verdun,  Partition  of   (843  a.d.),  50 
Vergennes,   Charles   Gravier,   Count  of: 

made    minister    for    foreign    affairs, 

253 

Vergniaud,  Pierre  Victurnien :  leads 
Girondist  party,  272 

Verneuil :  battle  of  (1423),  114 

Verneuil,  Henrietta  d'Entragues,  Mar- 
quise of:  her  intrigues  with  Henry 
IV  of  France,  172;  arrested,  174 

Verona,  Congress  of  (1822),  379 

Versailles,  Peace  of  (1783),  257 

Vervins,  Peace  of  (1598),  171 

Victor  Amadeus  I,  King  of  Sardinia  (II, 
Duke  of  Savoy)  :  at  war  with  the 
French,  218;  forms  alliance  with 
French,  219 


INDEX 


537 


Victor  Amadeus  TT,  King  of  Sardinia: 
concludes  peace  witli  Napoleon,  2(>S 

Victor  Amadens  I,  Duke  of  Savoy:  at 
war  with   France,   187 

Victoria,  queen  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland  and  empress  of  India:  visits 
Napoleon  III,  448 

Vieilleville,  Marshal  de :  opposes  perse- 
cution of  Protestants,  149 

Vienna,  Congress  of  (1814),  359 

Vienna,  Treaty  of  (1809),  336 

Vigo:  battle  of   (1703),  221 

Villafranca,  Treaty  of   (1859),  451 

Villaret-Joyeuse.  Louis  Thomas,  Count: 
at  battle  of  Belle-Isle,  294 

Villars,  Louis  Hector.  Duke  of:  his  cam- 
paigns in  the  War  of  the  Spanish 
Succession,  221 ;  president  of  the 
council  of  war,  227 ;  member  of 
king's  council,  234;  his  campaign  in 
Italy,  235 

Villariciosa:  battle  of  (1711),  224 

Villele,  Count  Jean  Baptiste  Seraphin 
Joseph  de :  admitted  to  the  council, 
375 ;  made  minister  of  finance,  378 

Villeman,  Abel  Frangois :  his  relations 
to  the  revolution  of  1830,  391 ;  op- 
poses the  September  Laws,  408 

Villeneuve,  Pierre  Charles  Jean  Baptiste 
Silvestre  de :  commands  Toulon 
fleet,  325 

Villeneuve:  battle  of  (1814),  346 

Villeroi,  Frangois  de  Neuville,  Duke  of: 
taken  prisoner  by  Eugene  of  Savoy, 
220 ;  policy  of,  228 

Vimiera:  battle  of  (i8aS),  333 

Vine:  battle  of  (717  a.d.),  3''j 

Vionville:  battle  of  (1870),  464 

Vitiges,  king  of  the  Ostrogoths :  reign 
of,  25 

Vittoria:   battle  of    (1S13),   344 

Vougle:  battle  of  (507  a.d.),  20 


W 


Wagram :  battle  of   (1809),  33,6 
Waifar,    Duke    of    Aquitaine:    reign    of, 

41 
Waldeck,   George   Friedrich,    Prince   of: 
his    campaign    against    the    French, 
217 


Waldenses :   persecution   of,   144 
Wallace,  William  :  rebellion  of,  87 
Wallenstein.  Albrecht  luisebius  von  :  his 
campaigns  in  the  Thirty  Years'  War, 
190 
Walter    the    Penniless :    leads    the    cru- 
saders, 70 
War  of  the  Three  Henries,  161 
Waratho,  mayor  of  the  palace :  reign  of, 

35 

Washington,  George,  president  of  the 
United  States :  in  the  I^'rench  and 
Indian  Wars,  243 

Waterloo:  battle  of   (1815),  362 

Wellington,  Arthur  Wellesley,  Viscount: 
his  campaigns  in  the  Peninsula, 
333;  his  campaign  in  Belgium.  362; 
at  the  Congress  of  Verona,  379 

Wertingen :  battle  of   (1805).  326 

West  India  Company,  French,  214 

Westcrmann,  Joseph :  death  of,  288 

Westphalia.  Peace  of   (1648),  200 

White  Mountain:  battle  of  (1620), 
189 

William  (I)  the  Conqueror,  king  of 
England  :  conquers  England,  68 

William  (TIT)  of  Orange,  king  of  Eng- 
land ;  his  campaigns  against  the 
French,  210:  becomes  leader  of  the 
League  of  Augsburg,  217 

William  V,  Prince  of  Orange:  his  cam- 
paign against  France,  286 

William,  Prince  of  Prussia:  his  cam- 
paign against   Napoleon,  346 

William  X,  Duke  of  Aquitaine  and  Count 
of  Poitou  :  supports  claims  of  Geof- 
frey Plantagenet,  72 

William  Longswood,  Duke  of  Nor- 
mandy: invites  Louis  IV  to  come 
to   I'rance,  55 ;   death  of,  56 

William  Shortnose,  Duke  of  Toulouse: 
appointed  guardian  for  Louis  the 
Pious,  43 

Wilson  Scandal,  The    (1887),  4S4 

Wimpfen,  Baron  Felix  de :  leads  army 
of   insurrectionists,  285 

WimpfTen.  Emmanuel  Felix  de :  in  the 
Franco-Prussian  War,  465 

Witt.  John  de :  leader  of  the  Triple 
Alliance,  209 

Wittgenstein.  Ludwig  Adolf  Peter, 
Prince     of     Sayn-Wittgenstein-Lud- 


538 


INDEX 


wigsburg:  his  campaign  against  Na- 
poleon, 342 

Woerth:  battle  of  (1870),  464 

Wolf  II,  king  of  the  Basques :  at  war 
with    Charlemagne,    42 

Wolfenbiittel :  battle  of  (1641),  194 

Wolsey,  Thomas :  seduced  by  Francis  I 
of  France,  138 

Worms,  Treaty  of  (1743),  238 

Wulfoald:  made  mayor  of  the  palace,  34 

Wurmser,  Dagobert  Siegmund,  Count 
of:  his  campaigns  against  the 
French,  287.  299 

Wurzburg:  battle  of  (1796),  3CX) 


X,  Y,  Z 

Yorck :  his  campaign  against  Napoleon, 

346 
York,  Frederick  Augustus,  Duke  of:  at 

siege  of  Dunkirk,  286 
Yorktown :  siege  of   (1781),  256 
Ypres :  siege  of  (1794),  290 
Yser:  battle  of  the   (1793),  286 
Zacharias,  Pope :  at  war  with  the  Lom- 
bards, 40 
Zeriksee:  battle  of  (1303),  87 
Zorndorf:  battle  of    (1758),  245 
Zurich:  battle  of  (1799),  310 


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